


Ruination (Season 3)

by armlessphelan



Series: Ruination [4]
Category: The Bold and the Beautiful
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:06:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 60,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4531866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armlessphelan/pseuds/armlessphelan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ivy is back in Los Angeles. Bill is trying to lure Sheila into a trap. Noah and Maya are trying to find out what happened to Eden. And RJ? Well, RJ is about to ruin everything for everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rick wasn't sure why his brother had invited him over for a visit. It wasn't that he didn't like RJ, because the kid was his brother, but the text message had been vague and just offered a time and RJ's address.

Reaching out, Rick knocked on the door to his little brother's apartment. The building looked expensive enough from outside, but when RJ opened the door and welcomed Rick inside, it looked horrific.

"Where are the rooms?" Rick pushed past his brother and looked around. There was an ashtray on the coffee table and it looked like it had recently been used. "You smoke now? Your building allows that?"

"My loft is designed to have one room. I like it this way," RJ explained, sounding as if he thought Rick was an idiot. He closed the door and followed Rick into what was probably the living room portion of the place. "And I don't smoke, but I had company over who does."

"Who do you know that smokes? Because the only people you know that I don't aren't in LA anymore."

"Yeah, thanks for never meeting either one of my now ex-boyfriends when we were still together. I really felt that brotherly love.” RJ slammed his hand to his chest, then reached up and played with the brim of his bowler hat. “But I didn't ask you over to discuss my love life or my interior design, though you need to let me redecorate the mansion. It looks like Grandmother still lives there.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” Rick adjusted his lilac tie and made his way to RJ's sofa and sat down. It smelled of menthol cigarettes and chocolate.

He must've been making a face because RJ was making one back at him.

“So, why am I here?”

A devious smile crawled onto RJ's face. Rick's little brother clapped his hands together and spun once before giving him an answer. “I have a business proposition for you. And it's a huge one. It'll completely take the focus off of everything with my dad and Caroline, not to mention the Maya stuff.”

Rick fought the urge to vomit when he thought of his ex. He was still disgusted when he thought of how he had fallen for that man in a dress.

“RJ, I would love to bring you into the Forrester fold!” Rick scratched the back of his hand and pushed away any thoughts of Maya. “You're a very talented designer, and I think you and Layla would be magic together, but wouldn't you still be under contract with L&M? The company isn't even a year old.”

When RJ shook his head, Rick knew something was up. “Not me. No, I would never work for Forrester. I mean, I own 5% of L&M in addition to the building that houses our offices, so there would be a conflict of interest legally. Also, my dad is with Forrester and that would be a terrible situation for everyone involved. Not to mention Steffy.”

“I'm aware of who my employees are, RJ. So if it's not you wanting to design for us, what could you possibly have to offer me? I'm very busy man and you're wasting my time with these games.”

“The game hasn't even started yet, Big Brother.” RJ smiled and his eyes shifted to a door on the other end of the loft. Rick followed him, but after a few seconds of waiting, nothing happened.

“RJ...”

“Quinn and Wyatt are still in their comas,” RJ interrupted. “There's nobody else at Forrester who can handle the jewelry division. Now, if L&M had one, and we're too new a company to expand, I would keep this established talent for myself, but I figure I can do my big brother the favour of hiring her.”

“Her?”

Then RJ bound over to the bathroom door and threw it open. “He's ready for you.”

“Thank god. Do you know what it's like being trapped in an enclosed space with that woman? It's hell.”

Rick bristled at the voice. It was impossible, yet his cousin Ivy emerged from RJ's bathroom with an accompanying aura of danger that spread out across the room.

“You have to be kidding me. This can't be real. She's dead. You're dead!”

“Oh, Ricky, I'm very much real.” Ivy pushed RJ away and slammed the door. “We don't need to be interrupted. Negotiations can be very tense, and so can that old bat.”

“Old bat?”

“Trust me, you're better off not knowing,” RJ assured Rick as he and Ivy approached. “And it's really her.”

Holding up a hand, Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the cops. She's a murderer, RJ!”

“Alleged,” Ivy corrected, brushing her hair off her shoulders. “And go ahead. Call the police. They'll tell you that there are no outstanding warrants. The FBI cleared me. I mean, of course they would. I'm an innocent woman. I couldn't hurt a fly, let alone do all those horrible things they said I did.”

“It's true, Rick. Every single charge was dropped. I verified it myself before I called you.” RJ walked around Ivy and sat on the coffee table. He pushed the ashtray away with a look of disgust, then crossed his legs and focused his attention back on Rick. “Ivy is not a criminal. She was the scapegoat for some guy back in New York, and the truth came to light.”

“And you expect me to believe this? You want me to hire Ivy back to work on the jewelry line while Wyatt and Quinn are incapacitated? You must be joking.”

Ivy walked around the table and put her hands on RJ's shoulder. Rick noted how uncomfortable his brother looked.

“Oh, nobody here is joking. And you won't be hiring me to work on the jewelry line. You're gonna hire me as the president of the entire accessory division, Rick. That's jewelry, ties, cuff links: everything. And you're going to make a big, splashy announcement to the press about my return to the company.”

“There is no way in hell that is happening.” Rick looked at RJ in disbelief. “You actually went along with this lunacy?”

RJ shrugged off Ivy's grip and clasped his hands together, leaning forward so that he and Rick were face to face. “You seem to think that you have the option of not hiring her, Rick. The sooner you sign Ivy's contract, the sooner she can reveal herself to the public and move out of my loft.

“Unless you'd prefer that the press, and Granddad, find out that you were part of leaking that tape of my dad and Caroline. How do you think everyone would take to finding out you left your poor, damaged little brother to take all the blame?” The smirk on RJ's face matched the one on Ivy's and Rick was afraid. “I mean, I have a sex tape making the rounds on the internet. Mom is heartbroken enough already. Do you really want to put her through even more?”

“Who are you?” Rick just stared at RJ.

“I'm your brother.”

“And my favourite mini-cousin,” Ivy added, wrapping her arms around RJ from behind and looking into Rick's eyes. RJ's smirk had faltered, but hers hadn't. “Now, do you want to do what's in everyone's best interests, or do you want to be stubborn and ruin our familial legacy even more than you already have?”

It was then that Rick realized that he had no choice. His tenure as CEO was already a mess, and if he had any hope of keeping his seat, he needed to make this deal with the devil named Ivy Forrester.

B&B

“Sí? Cómo puedo ayudarte?” The receptionist asked.

“Inglés.” Maya wrapped an arm around Noah's waist and smiled. “American.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. How can I help you?”

Wrapping her leg around one of his, Maya tilted her head and ran a finger along Noah's jawline. They'd agreed earlier to let her do all the talking. She hoped that the acting classes she'd taken back in LA would help her pull off this con.

“My boyfriend here, he's looking for a change. We were thinking pec implants. He just tries and tries, but the poor guy can't bulk up.”

“Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist nodded to the guards on either side of her desk and they adjusted their grips on their guns.

Nodding, Maya never let her smile falter. “Yes we do. Strictly a consultation. It's under the name 'Avant'. I'm familiar with Dr. Fascinella's real name policy. I'm a former patient. I'm sure you still have my file.”

“Yes, well, important as you think that is, Ms. Avant, Dr. Fascinella is with another patient at the moment. But Luciano will take you to a room to wait. After your pat down, of course.”

“Of course,” Maya agreed, pulling away from Noah and holding her arms out. He looked to her and followed suit.

She was handled roughly and groped in places that made her cringe inside, but her smile never faded.

The guards and the receptionist exchanged some more words in Spanish that Maya couldn't really make out. The one who checked her returned to his post, and the other kept a hand on Noah's arm and led them through a side door.

“You wait here,” he told Maya and Noah after ushering them into an empty room. It looked exactly like a normal doctor's office, and Maya hopped up on the examination table while Noah stood in a corner. The man closed the door behind him and the sound of the lock clicking in place let them know they were trapped.

Looking around the office, Maya didn't see any cameras. Fascinella had a policy of potential patients and their financiers handing over their actual names. If he was going to do their dirty work, they weren't going to sell him out. It was mutually assured destruction and the man was good enough that everyone went along with it. Maya knew all of this after everything with Jesse. She just didn't know why Noah was so adamant that her former cosmetic surgeon was involved in whatever happened with his ex-girlfriend and possibly his twice dead fiancee.

After being satisfied that there were no cameras, Maya swept the room for listening devices. Whenever she had come with Jesse, there had never been any. Fascinella valued his patients' privacy, but things could have changed. The room came up clean. Her time in prison had taught her many things that they had hoped she would never need outside.

“We can talk,” she told Noah while running her hands through her hair. It took a few seconds, but she disentangled a bug of her own from the kinky locks. “Thank god for natural hair, right? Nobody ever wants to touch it except weird ass white people with no sense of boundaries. Lucky for us, these guys didn't.”

“Um, right.” Noah clearly had no idea how to react to Maya's statement, which made her suppress a chuckle. “Are you sure you've never done this before?”

“I was in jail because my ex used drug money to pay for my transition, Noah. Not because a I was a corporate spy. This should be more your kinda thing, to be honest. Isn't your family always in the news over this kinda thing?”

“The Newmans hire people to do this stuff. And you gave them your real name?” Noah stared at the door instead of Maya.

She answered him while looking for the best place to plant the device. It didn't have to be there long, just long enough. “I gave them yours, too. They vet every person who enters this clinic. If I'd given an alias, we would've been flagged and turned away, if not shot on-site. And when the doc gets here, be quiet and let me do all the talking. Only answer questions addressed directly to you. You look like you'd be a terrible liar.”

“I'd be offended, except it's true.” Noah kept his face pointed in the direction of the door, but let his eyes slide to Maya. “Thanks for the all the help.”

“Not a problem,” she told him. Maya looked over the device, a small black box no bigger than half her thumb and with no blinking light to give away that it was anything other than a piece of plastic. Opening the cupboard on the wall, Maya slid the device into the darkest corner, behind a tin of bandages, then closed the cupboard. Now all they had to do was wait to leave and place the call to Noah's friend Kevin.

B&B

Bill watched as Celia looked around his mansion. She was awestruck. The girl who thought she was his daughter slowly spun, mouth wide open, taking in everything.

“I've been in mansions before, back in Pine Valley, but nothing like this.” She looked back to Bill and smiled. He faked one back. If having this idiot think she was his offspring was what it would take to save his real son, then it was a small price to pay.

“There is rich, and then there is the Spencer family. We're the class above the upper class. The elite. And you're one of us now.” Bill crossed his arms over his chest and walked past his fake daughter. “Katie, my wife and your stepmother, she doesn't know you exist. Not yet. And you have three brothers. There's Will, my son with Katie, you'll be living here with him. Liam, I invited him over for dinner. I'm going to introduce you to them then, but Wyatt...”

Stopping, Bill grabbed the front of his shirt and curled his hands into fists. He turned and looked at Celia, who was waiting on his every word with baited breath. His boys... They had never done that. They were always annoyed when he spoke. Even Caroline had ignored him for the most part. This was a new experience.

“Your brother, Wyatt, is in a coma. We're not entirely sure what happened. But you also have a cousin by the name of Caroline.”

“Oh god, that's right. Caroline Spencer. I follow her on Instagram. Will she be at dinner? Can I get a picture with her? All my friends back in Pine Valley would just die!” Celia gushed and Bill soaked it in. Finally, someone who realized that the Spencer name was a symbol of pride.

Before he could answer her, Bill's phone began ringing. It was his wife. Holding a finger up to Celia, Bill answered the call. “Hello, Katie. I'm back home and I have a big surprise for you.”

“It better be family appropriate, Bill. Did you find that doctor you were looking for?”

“I definitely found something I was after,” Bill answered, smiling at Celia and giving her a thumbs up. She clapped silently and jumped in the air, barely keeping her excitement contained. “I'll tell you all about it when you get here.”

“Bill, I'm calling to tell you that I'm bringing RJ to dinner with me. After his tape leaked and Noah left... He shouldn't be alone. I just want him to know that he still has us in his corner, you know? I'm picking him up after work, and you WILL be on your best behaviour.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'll see you when you get here. And bring the proofs from the new Eye on Fashion and D-Pad with you. I've been gone too long.”

He heard Katie sighed as she hung up the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

"You have got to be kidding me. Are you for real with this, Rick? You would really bring her back to Forrester after everything she did? You know what the press is going to do when they find out." Steffy was incredulous. It took everything she had not to strike him.

For his part, Rick stared her down and didn't flinch. "I am the CEO of this company, Steffy. You work for me. I don't have to explain myself to you."

"The hell you don't. I own 20% of Forrester Creations, Rick. So yeah, you do work for me. And I want to know why in the hell you thought it was a good idea to bring Ivy back."

"Quinn and Wyatt are... incapacitated at the moment. We needed somebody to head up the jewelry line, and Ivy already knows how to do that. It only makes good business sense. This company can't afford to spend time searching for somebody new, especially not after the damage your father and Caroline did to our reputation with the public."

"That was all RJ's doing and you know it. God, Rick, I knew you were a terrible CEO when you tried to use that nonsense to get rid of my dad, but this is diving headfirst into insanity. The woman is a terrorist!"

"She was cleared of any wrongdoing, Steffy. As far as the law and I are concerned, she's an innocent woman. And she is now the president of jewelry and accessories. If you don't like it, you more than welcome to go back to International. Or you can quit. I'm sure they would to hire you at L&M."

Rick laughed and Steffy extended her palm at her side. She debated whether or not to slap Rick, but it ultimately wasn't worth it.

"The unemployment line is more appealing than working for that low rent fashion house, and if you continue down this road, then that's exactly where everyone at Forrester is going to end up. Watch yourself, Rick. You're officially on my bad side."

B&B

"I'll be honest: glowing recommendation from your old boss aside, your resume is a mess." Ivy glanced over the paperwork one final time before setting it on her new desk.

Before, when she'd been a freelance employee, Ivy didn't have an office of her own. She had to share studio space with Wyatt and his psychotic mother. So, when RJ convinced Rick to hire her, Ivy laid out her demands. One had been her own office, someplace away from everyone else, and Rick had stuck her in the basement where Thorne used to reside before he moved to International. She was actually fine with that.

Ivy very much needed her privacy. She also needed an assistant, someone who would be willing to go above and beyond for her, which was how she found herself interviewing Theresa Donovan.

"You have a criminal history, and there's something about a serial killer?" Ivy watched the young woman, someone her own age, just to see how she would react.

"I was under suspicion for a few weeks, but they eventually found out it was someone else. Still, my name was dragged through the mud for weeks and it's best to just disclose that from the beginning, I find."

"I am familiar with false charges, Ms. Donovan. But it seems like you're a dishonest, unscrupulous, conniving bitch."

"Well, fuck you, too." Theresa stood up but Ivy just watched her walk to the door.

"The job is yours."

Stopping, Theresa turned and looked at Ivy. Her right hand was on the doorknob. "What?"

"Those weren't insults, Ms. Donovan. They're the qualities I'm looking for in an assistant. You don't mind some unethical tasks here and there, do you?"

Theresa released the doorknob and walked back to her seat. "You pay me enough, and ethics won't be a problem, Miss Forrester."

"Ms. Forrester," Ivy corrected with a chuckle.

B&B

Celia Fitzgerald was nervous. It was crazy enough finding out that her late parents weren't her parents, but on top of that her biological father was richer than she imagined possible and she had brothers. Brothers!

She felt like the little orphan Annie. She wondered how Bill would feel if she called him Daddy Warbucks.

"Family dinner? This has never been a thing," one of the guys at the table complained. Celia only vaguely recognized him, but she knew RJ Logan the moment he walked in the door. It took all of her self-control to keep from fangirling. Famous people! Real life celebrities, and she was to be one of them.

"You brought an intern?" Asked a woman whom Celia was certain was Bill's wife. "Hi, sweetie. I'm Katie, Bill's wife and VP at Spencer. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, I'm-" Celia started before Bill held up his hand to silence her. He smiled warmly and the young woman didn't even notice everyone else at the table exchange bewildered glances.

"Let me," he requested.

"Let you what, Bill? What did you do?" Katie asked her husband suspiciously.

"Nothing! It's just that, when I went to Pennsylvania, I had another reason to go besides Wyatt."

"Oh! You're my sister, then. Nice to meet you. Liam." The guy who had previously complained about having a family dinner waved at her.

"Welcome to the family or whatever. I don't know if we're related. I think so. Step cousins or whatever." RJ Logan raised his glass of soda to Celia, who blushed.

Katie sighed. "I guess that makes me the wicked stepmother. Only I'm not that evil."

Grumbling, Bill's smiled dropped. "That's one way to ruin a moment."

"Hi," Celia squeaked, her nerves frayed beyond recognition.

"Hey, Sis." Liam smiled at her sincerely. That alone did wonders to soothe her. "What's your name?"

"Celia Spencer," Bill answered for her.

"Celia Fitzgerald," she corrected. Suddenly, Bill looked annoyed with her and Celia wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"We'll get that fixed," Bill assured everyone.

"Nothing wrong with not taking your father's name," RJ chimed in, looking right at Bill. "Some of us actively avoid it."

Grunting, Bill disagreed with his nephew. "This is a family matter. Why are you talking?"

"BILL!" Katie yelled at her husband. "This is my nephew. OUR nephew. Of course he's allowed to talk."

"I don't claim people who use the press to attack my family. He's lucky I'm letting him in my house."

RJ laughed. "Lucky? Please. The last thing I am is lucky. Eden almost killed me and you just stood there. How do you think I feel, having to see your face? I'm only here because Aunt Katie practically begged me to come, Bill."

"Then allow me to give you the ability to leave without any guilt."

"Nah, since my presence pisses you off so much, I think I'm gonna stay." RJ smiled and Celia wondered what the hell was going on with these people. "Uncle Bill."

"Don't you ever call me that."

"You two calm the hell down NOW!" Katie ordered, but they both ignored her.

Again, RJ laughed. "How do you feel about being called 'Tío'? I think it fits. Tío."

Bill stood up and threw his chair against the wall. RJ threw his as well, though his didn't go very far when he threw it. It was Bill's turn to laugh.

"You wanna go? I will beat your old ass down," RJ threatened.

"Says the child who got beat up by a girl."

Then Katie stood up and slapped Bill. "That's enough. From the both of you. RJ, gather your things. I'm taking you home. And Bill? When I get back, you and I are having a talk."

"I would say this isn't normal," Liam said as he leaned in and whispered to Celia, "but it kinda is. Anyway, welcome to the family."

B&B

"You're still here? The deal was that you would be gone as soon as you got the job." RJ Logan burst into his loft and threw his coat to the floor and kicked his shoes off. "I need to buy new shit. Everything is too fucking tight. And who is this bitch?"

Theresa couldn't believe that it was her first day on the job and she was meeting fashion royalty. She did find it easy to believe that he was a cunt, however.

"I'm Theresa Donovan." She blinked as she answered.

"Why is it speaking to me, Ivy?" RJ pulled off his shirt and started to undo his pants. This was not how she thought he would act. "If you're going to bring stray dogs into my home, you had better make sure they're housebroken."

It took all of Theresa's self-control to not beat the little punk down.

"Theresa is my new assistant, RJ. You'd better be nice to her. You're gonna spend a lot of time together." Ivy nodded at her employee and stood up. "You'll be happy to know that we found a lovely retirement home for my mother and already moved her in. I'll need a few more days."

"No more days. I'm sick of the smell of Vegemite," RJ growled. "I'm already in a bad mood. You do not want to piss me off any more than I already am."

Putting a hand on RJ's back, Ivy guided her cousin to the kitchenette. "RJ, we're family."

Then she grabbed the back of RJ's neck and slammed his head into the counter. He collapsed and she delivered a painful looking series of kicks to his ribs.

From her perch, Theresa cheered. Ivy shot her a smile over her shoulder before turning her attention back to RJ.

"You forget yourself, you diminutive faggot. We are not partners. You work for me. No, I own you. If I want something done, you're gonna do it. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes." The gasping noises RJ made had Theresa smiling.

"Good boy." Ivy dealt another kick for emphasis, this time to RJ's face. And as he laying on his floor, writhing in pain and blood pouring from his nose, Ivy took back her seat next to Theresa. The woman's assistant pulled her tablet out of sleep mode.

"I've found a few condos in your price range, but there's also a mansion that just hit the market. It's costs six million, but is secluded, even by LA standards. I guess some Scientologist used to live there before he got excommunicated and stopped getting acting gigs."

B&B

Hope Logan ran around her Venice villa, throwing things into her luggage. She couldn't stay in Los Angeles, not for long, but she needed to go back. Too many things had happened for her to stay away.

RJ had nearly died and someone leaked a sex tape of his. Wyatt, her ex-husband, he and Quinn had been attacked and out in a coma: nobody seemed to know why. Ridge and Caroline were outed as racists and Maya was outed as trans.

She didn't know what she could do for any of them, but Hope needed to do something. It was time to go home.

B&B

“Hurry it up, Kevin. We need to be on our plane in an hour. We bugged Fascinella's office, so we need out of Mexico as soon as possible.” Noah sat on the phone and watched as Maya nervously watched the door. They were supposed to fly to Genoa City and meet Kevin there. He was to explain everything in person, not over the phone. It was too insecure.

“Noah, you guys can't take the plane. Fascinella's people found the bug before I could get all the info. The Mexican government, lucky for you, is as unsecured as it is corrupt. They flagged your tickets. You and Maya are on a no fly list. If you're gonna get out of Mexico, you need to sneak out.”

After getting Maya's attention and waving her over, Noah put the phone on speaker.

“Are you saying we need to cross the border hiding in the back of someone's truck? Kevin, we have almost no cash. I used my debit card to pay for this trip.”

“You two are idiots,” Kevin told them.

“Excuse you!” Maya took the phone from Noah. “We'll worry about getting out of Mexico without being caught, but what did you find, Kevin? Did you get anything at all?”

It took a few seconds for Kevin to answer her. “Yeah, I did. Just a list of patient transfers from some place in New York called Crichton-Clark. Noah, man, Courtney was on that list like you thought. She's out there somewhere.”

Maya looked at Noah but said nothing. They'd agreed to not tell Kevin about their suspicions about who Eden really was.

“Do you have anything else about Courtney?” Maya asked. Noah couldn't breathe. He wanted to be proven wrong. He didn't want it to have been Courtney, the woman he was going to marry, who was responsible for almost killing RJ.

“There was another name on that list. I've never met her, but I'm pretty sure the two of you have. She transferred to Fascinella the same week as Courtney.”

“Who was she, Kevin? Because Noah and I don't have that many people in common.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for just enough time to make Noah want to vomit. He squatted down on the filthy floor of their motel room. He had rented a nice place in Mexico City, but Maya insisted he draw out some cash and they crash in this hovel in one of the nearby villages immediately after the visit to Fascinella. That had probably been a good idea. It was probably why they were still alive.

Noah hugged his knees and waited for Kevin's answer.

“I'm sure you've heard that Ivy Forrester is back at Forrester Creations.”

Maya and Noah looked at each other. He was confused, but there was dread in her eyes.

“No, we hadn't. She's supposed to be dead, and is wanted for murder,” Maya responded, her voice shaking as much as her hand. “Kevin, was Ivy the other person? This can't be a coincidence if it was her.”

“All I know is that her name is on the transfer list.”

After hanging up the call without saying goodbye, Maya threw the phone against the wall. “Noah, we need to leave. Now.”

“Where are we going?”

She offered him a hand and pulled the man to his feet. “Anywhere but here. Fascinella is dangerous, but values discretion. I don't know if you ever actually met Ivy, but I have. Noah, the woman blew up a hotel and killed a whole lot of people, including a little girl, while trying to takeover a mob town. It was all over the newspapers.”

“Why would Forrester take her back? And how is she connected to Courtney?” Noah never had met much of RJ's family on the Forrester side. Just Ridge and... and Steffy.

“First, we need to get out of here, Noah. And we can't bring our phones. GPS tracking and all that jazz. You can really learn a lot from the paranoid inmates at prison. And, once we're back in the US, we'll figure out what to do. After all, we only have two real leads.”

“And what are those?” Noah looked into Maya's eyes. He so grateful she was helping him. He wouldn't have been able to even get this far by himself.

She was still holding his hand.

“Noah, when we get back to America, we can either question Ivy or we can look into this Crichton-Clark place. But, for now, we need to leave.”


	3. Chapter 3

"We need to do something. I won't let this stand. I absolutely refuse." Steffy kicked her father's desk as she ranted. "It's bad enough Rick let L&M exist, instead of squashing it immediately, but sales are down across the board. Even his precious Layla has declining numbers. We tried with the charity line, but nobody will work with us.

"If we're going to save Forrester Creations, we need to do something and soon. I think I can get Bill on board with a takeover, and we obviously have Thomas in our pocket. All Rick has is Granddad and a history of failure."

"And then what, Steffy? Because of RJ, the public hates me and your dad. Layla is pretty much immune from firing because of the bad press we'd get." Caroline made sense and it made Steffy even madder. "I agree getting Rick out is a necessity, but who is going to replace him?"

"I will." Steffy crossed her arms and looked at her dad, waiting for an argument. He didn't offer one. "I'll be CEO, and Dad can be president. You're fine with that?"

"We don't exactly have much choice. Forrester is still profitable, but if we don't make a change and soon, we may end up taking a loss next quarter." Ridge bit the crunchy batter off his corn dog stick, then made sure to suck it completely clean before continuing. "This company hasn't had a loss in many, many years."

"There has to be something we can do to convince Eric to side with us." Caroline rubbed her temples but it was clear to Steffy that Caroline would be as useless in this coup as she was in everything else.

"We don't need Granddad." Steffy smiled, her lips threatening to overtake the rest of her face. "I told you already, I can get Bill on our side. Rick will be gone before you know it."

"And how are you going to do that? The only person Uncle Bill hates more than Rick is Ridge."

Caroline was lucky she was pretty. Steffy thought the woman might even be dumber than RJ, but he was no longer her concern. She would destroy Rick and Layla the same way she had taken out her little brother. There wasn't a person alive who could stop her.

B&B

"Nice place."

Aly Forrester stopped petting the fuzzy, stuffed representation of her lord and brother-in-law Cthulu. Her long, strawberry hair hung down over her face as she snarled at the trespasser. Only he would dare to taint the pure holy ground that was her bedroom.

"RJ," she hissed between gritted teeth. She clutched Cthulu's toy self to her chest and glared. Why would he be here? If she still worshiped that false god Yahweh, Aly would have railed against the disgusting and abominable life he led. "What happened to your face? Why are you in the mansion? You are no longer a Forrester."

Smiling, RJ traced the outline of a wicked bruise under his left eye. "We'll get to me, but first I want to talk about you. I know what you did, Aly. What you've been doing."

He walked into her room, ignoring the death glares Aly was shooting. His impurity could ruin everything!

"And what did I do, RJ? What is so important that you are bothering me when you could be at L&M?" Aly's manicured fingernails dug into Cthulu, tearing at his bindings.

"You didn't design that failed charity line, Aly. Yes, it reviewed well, but sales have been terrible. And it was not yours."

The lining began popping as Aly pulled at her husband Nyarlathotep's brother. Her breathing was laboured as she fought the urge to attack this beast for its hubris.

"You stole it from me, Aly. You and Steffy. She'll get what's coming to her, but today it is all about you." RJ continued to not look at her and walked to Aly's wall where all of her children hung. His unclean hands began to molest Sh'narta, pulling Aly's daughter from her place of rest. "But you aren't just a thief, are you?"

With a scream, Aly tore Cthulu in half and leapt from her bed. She tackled RJ to the floor and wretched Sh'narta from his blasphemous grasp. She made to cleave his skull open, but RJ quickly produced a can of pepper spray and blasted it in her face.

Her daughter falling to the floor, Aly wiped at her eyes but it only made the burning worse. As she sobbed, she heard the sound of metal dragging against wood, then the thud of a collision.

"I didn't come here to fight you, Aly," RJ said as he hung over her. Aly was choking on her own hair and he pulled it from her mouth, twisting and pulling at her as he did so. "I have an offer to make. Nobody else needs to know what you're doing. The police are stumped because the victims have been chosen at random. Except it's not random, is it? It's chaotic. I've been watching the last few weeks. The joys of unemployment."

Aly couldn't answer her cousin. Just breathing hurt as she had also swallowed an unhealthy amount of the spray, her lungs and mouth burning as much as her eyes.

"I just ask that I pick your next one, Aly. I don't need to know why you're doing it and I don't really care. You can keep being a madwoman and you can even keep the credit for my designs."

RJ grabbed Aly's hands and dragged them back to Sh'narta. She was sticking out of the floor and Aly pulled her free. Fighting through the pain and blindness, Aly held her daughter to her chest and silently prayed to her dark husband.

"The next time you use that, Aly, you're going to go after Ivy. You're going to kill that kangaroo cunt for what she did to me. And then our business will be concluded."

The slamming of her bedroom door was the only indicator Aly had that RJ was gone.

B&B

"RJ still isn't returning my calls." Brooke Logan stood in the doorway of the studio Amber Moore used to share with her rival and partner's son. "Please tell me that you've heard from him."

Shaking her head, Amber looked up from her drawing table and frowned. "I don't have time to talk about RJ, Brooke. I'm designing our whole winter line by myself. So unless you want to pick up a pencil or hire a new designer, kindly see yourself out."

"Don't you care about RJ at all? I thought you two were friends!"

"We were friends, Brooke. But then you talked me into suspending him from work and he hasn't talked to me since. I thought you two were better after the while Eden trying to kill him thing." Amber sat her pencil down because it was obvious Brooke wasn't going to let it go.

"So did I, but then the tape leaked. And I talked to Rick... Ivy is back, Amber. I'm sure you saw it on the blogs, but she's back at Forrester and Rick refuses to tell me why he hired her."

"You do work for the competition," Amber pointed out. "And none of this has anything to do with us. I inherited Julian's shares of L&M, not Ivy. RJ got the building. She has nothing to do with this company whatsoever. She has nothing to do with RJ."

Brooke coughed, then shook her head. There was terror in her eyes. "Amber, Rick told me that Ivy has been staying with RJ at the loft. And Katie told me that she had RJ over for dinner last night, I guess Bill found another kid of his, and RJ almost had a fistfight with Bill."

"That doesn't..." Amber looked at her absent partner's drawing table. "That doesn't sound like something RJ would do. Brooke, I thought you said he was okay after the fall."

"I thought he was." Brooke was shaking, but Amber couldn't tell if it was fear or fury causing it. "Amber, my little boy was spiraling out of control before the fall, and he's only getting worse. I don't know how to stop it. I'm begging you. RJ's never really had friends, and for him to consider you one means something. Please go to the loft and see how he's doing. See if that monster Ivy is really living with him. I don't think I could keep myself from throttling some sense into him."

"If it'll get you out of here, I'll do it, Brooke. I'll see RJ first thing after I leave work. But you have to leave me alone. NOW!"

B&B

Layla sat in her office, trying to figure out what she could do. Steffy, Ridge, and Caroline were plotting her end at Forrester. Their plan was solid, but they were idiots for hashing it out in the Forrester Creations building with an open door. She had heard every word.

The problem was that she couldn't go to Rick with it. Not after the way he had acted after the tape was released. Steffy had been right when she said Rick needed to go. He had completely mismanaged the Ridge and Caroline situation and they were worse than ever with Steffy acting as her father's attack dog. It took everything Layla had to keep her head above water and if they took over, they'd do everything possible to drive her out of the company.

There was another solution, though Layla didn't know if it would work. There were other Forresters. The forgotten ones. She'd never met them, just heard their names whispered around the building as if they were jokes. If Layla was going to keep her position at the company, she was going to need new allies. She just hoped she could get to them before Steffy or Ridge.

As she chewed on the cap of a pen, Layla pulled up the numbers for the employees at Forrester International. She called the one Steffy had mentioned.

"Hi, Thomas Forrester?" Layla asked after he had picked up his phone. "We've never met, but my name is Layla Williamson. We need to talk."

B&B

Amber found herself afraid to knock on RJ's door. Before, when it was just her and him and Julian, she would just barge into his apartment and make herself at home. He never cared. But then Noah came back into their lives and she felt RJ begin to pull away.

That was normal, though. When people got into relationships, they stopped depending so much on their friends. And Noah and RJ started hanging out with Liam for some reason, which made Amber persona non grata whenever he was around, so she stuck to just being office buddies with RJ and chatting with Noah whenever he came by the office.

It was so gradual a shift, she hadn't visited in so long, that she didn't even realize she still had a key to RJ's apartment on her key ring. She debated whether or not to use it before knocking.

"About time you got here," she heard RJ say on the other side of the door. The door flung open and her best friend stood before her wearing nothing more than a jock strap. His face was a mess. "Oh, it's you. What the hell do you want?"

Amber just blinked at RJ. "I want you to put some clothes on so that we can talk."

"I'll get a robe. You have two minutes, because I have company coming over. I doubt he's a fan of fish."

RJ walked over to his closet without inviting Amber in, so she let herself in. The loft looked different, with new furniture and paintings on the wall. "You redecorated."

"Constantly. You'd know that if you ever came by." RJ came out of the closet wearing an almost too short robe, and walked to his fridge. He never looked in Amber's direction. "And thanks for the visit while I was in the hospital. It meant a lot."

That shot actually hurt Amber. "I was taking care of L&M. You were gone, and Brooke took time off to see to you despite our entire collection being stolen. I barely had time to sleep. I thought you would understand!"

"Whatever." RJ opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. He didn't offer anything to Amber.

"You aren't 21 yet. How did you get that?"

After popping the lid off, RJ threw the cap into his sink and took a drink. After swallowing it, he finally looked at his guest. "You gonna narc?"

This wasn't RJ. The fall must have done something to his head. "I'm not, but your mom is worried about you. She says you won't answer her calls. You aren't answering mine, either. Are you okay?"

"I was just fine before your worn out slutty old ass showed up on my doorstep. And your two minutes are up. I would say we can talk more at the office, but you two cunts fired me. So how about you just leave."

"RJ, you weren't fired." Amber knew he wouldn't care.

"Whatever you say, Amber. Goodbye."


	4. Chapter 4

Hope pounded on the door to her brother's loft and yelled his name. She knew he was home, she could hear him inside, but after her plane touched down he ignored her calls. RJ had never ignored her calls before.

"Fine. I'm coming. God, you need to pop a Midol." RJ threw open his door and Hope stared at him. He was wearing a tiny robe that left very little to the imagination. "Hope?"

"I had to see you." She pulled her brother into a hug, forcing her way into the loft as she held him. "Are you really okay, RJ? Your face is still a mess. Wasn't the fall a month ago? It shouldn't take that long to heal."

Pushing his sister away, RJ walked back to his bed where a handsome man lay. He barely covered by a bedspread. The seemed to be staring at Hope. It made her uncomfortable, but her brother didn't notice because he climbed back into the bed and licked the side of the man's face.

"You know what else took a month?" RJ asked as he hand slid from the man's chest, to his abs, to below the sheet. Hope found herself well past uncomfortable when the blanket began moving in a steady rhythm.

The man kept staring at her, but she was actively looking only at RJ's face.

"It took a month for my own sister to fly out and make sure I was okay after almost being murdered. But at least you came, I guess. I haven't heard a peep from Steffy or Thomas. So, since my family abandoned me, I had to find other ways to cope."

"I can tell." Hope looked back to the silent man and crossed her arms. "Can you leave, whoever you are? This is a family matter."

"Don't you go anywhere. She's nobody." RJ turned the man's head and kissed him. It was so graphic a display Hope finally averted her eyes to the ceiling. That was when she noticed the mirror installed right above the bed.

"Actually, she's right." The man climbed out of the bed, and Hope kept staring at the mirror, thankful she was at an angle where she couldn't see anything.

"Come on, we didn't even get to do all that much," RJ whined as he rolled around in the bed, posing lewdly for his guest. "You don't have to leave just because this repressed cunt told you to go. It's my loft."

"She's... she's your sister, right? You should be better about how you treat her." The man began zipping his pants and Hope finally looked down at them. RJ, thankfully, was still wearing his robe and it was obscuring the worst of him from her view. "Hey, maybe we'll try this again sometime."

"Just go, then. Leave me like everyone else!" RJ yelled as he threw a pillow at the man. Then he turned his attention to Hope as the man gathered the rest of his stuff up. "Are you happy now?"

"RJ, I don't want to fight with you."

Climbing out of the bed, RJ handed the man his shoes and began pushing him to the door before he'd even put on his shirt. After the poor guy was in the hallway, he cast one last look to Hope before RJ slammed the door in his face.

"Who was he?" The woman asked her brother.

"I forgot to ask for his name. Why do you care?" RJ readjusted his robe and Hope saw bruising around his ribs.

She walked over to her brother and grabbed his hand. "What happened to you? This didn't happen from the fall. Did that guy hurt you?"

"It wouldn't be fun if there weren't a little kink." RJ pulled away from Hope and smiled. He chewed on his thumbnail as he looked his sister up and down. "But what would you know about fun? Your frigid ass is too vanilla for the missionary position."

Releasing her brother, Hope took a step back. This whole thing was wrong. There was something going on that she couldn't see. Nobody could see it.

"Now, you said that you weren't here to fight, so unless you're policing the sex lives of everyone in Los Angeles, there must be some other reason you've darkened my doorway." RJ chuckled darkly. "What does her royal highness really want?"

"Rick told me you were involved in his decision to bring Ivy back to Forrester."

It wasn't exactly a light so much as a dark flame, but it still danced behind RJ's eyes as he stared into his sister's soul. It made Hope feel unclean: she immediately wanted to take a shower.

"Oh? And just what exactly did our big brother tell the princess?" RJ bit his bottom lip in a sickening display of excitement. He stood on the tips of his toes and leaned forward so that his face was right in front of Hope's.

She took another couple steps back.

"Rick didn't tell me any details. He didn't even mean to tell me about you. But Rick isn't why I'm here, RJ. You are. Something is going on with you. Something happened to you. It's not just the fall. That fall wouldn't make you give a guy a handjob while I'm in the room!"

"Oh my god! I'm so proud. You know what a handjob is. Do you know about rimming, Hope? Maybe you're a sex kitten after all." The things that RJ said made her visibly ill, but he continued anyway. "Is that why Liam couldn't ever fully give you up even though you kept throwing him in the trash? Do you eat the booty? Because I don't think Steffy can with her new lips."

Then Hope stepped forward and slapped her brother. For a moment, just a moment, his amused facade fell. There was nothing behind the mask but hate and anger. Then RJ touched his cheek and laughed.

"I can't believe it. She actually has a backbone. Who would've ever guessed?" RJ then began to giggle. It slowly evolved into an unhinged laugh and Hope found herself afraid.

"RJ! Stop!" Hope screamed with a raw voice, tears threatening to burst from their ducts at any moment. Why was he so mad at her? Then it hit her. "It's not my fault you're hurting. It's not my fault Noah left."

Then the laughter quit. Every word that RJ spoke was laced with an air of danger that made Hope want to flee, but she needed to save RJ from whatever was happening. "You don't get to say that name around me. You weren't here, Hope. Mom slept with him, and I had to forgive that. Eden, Steffy, Thad... You weren't here! I had to take care of myself because nobody else would, especially not you, so don't you fucking dare."

"Noah hurt you, RJ. It's okay to miss him. But lashing out at everyone won't help. Whatever you're doing with Ivy? That's asking for trouble. You just told me I wasn't here for you when everything happened with Noah, but I am now, RJ. Let me and everyone else help you."

Fighting past her fear and apprehension, Hope stepped up to her brother and opened her arms to hug him. He responded by slamming his forehead into her face.

Blood trickled out of Hope's nose, trailing down her face and dripping onto the floor. She touched her lips, just to be certain, and when she pulled them away they were sticky and red.

"Are you gonna shut up now?" RJ smirked and crossed him arms over his chest, cocking an eyebrow. Hope suddenly found herself fearing for her life. This wasn't RJ. What terrified her was that she knew who he really was.

"Nicky?" Hope wiped her mouth clean with her sleeve. RJ's face became unreadable. “Are you back?”

Tilting his head, RJ just stayed quiet as he stared at his sister.

“I've been telling myself that RJ wouldn't act this way, and that's because he wouldn't.” Hope pulled out her phone. “RJ, I know you're in there. Don't worry. I'm gonna get you some help. Just fight him.”

Then, before she could react, Hope's phone was in her brother's hand, then it was being thrown against a wall. The back popped off and the battery bounced away.

“You listen to me, you uppity bitch. I wasn't kidding about taking care of RJ. You assholes just let him suffer, so I had to step in and do the job.” Nicky grabbed Hope by the throat with one hand and made a fist with the other. He punched her in the stomach and she doubled over. “I don't know how you knew it was me, but you should've played dumb. It's your default state, after all.”

Nicky threw Hope into the coffee table and the corner was sharp enough to bite through her top and leave a painful scratch along her side. As she fought to breathe, Hope pushed herself up and she stumbled across the room, slamming a shoulder into her brother. It didn't matter that it was RJ's body, because Hope remembered Nicky. She remembered how, after the fire that caused her and RJ to be taken from their mother, her little brother began to act differently. The adults were too busy fighting each other to notice that RJ wasn't himself anymore.

She thought Nicky had gone away when they were given back to Brooke. She thought it had been a phase and had completely forgotten about it until the moment she said his name. They both crashed into the wall. And as she fought with her little brother, Hope found herself wishing she'd said something to someone.

“GET BACK HERE!” Nicky screamed, grabbing Hope's long blonde hair and jerking her back to him before she could run away. He tried to put her in a choke hold, but she bit his arm and slammed an elbow into his already injured rib cage. As Nicky doubled over in pain, Hope kicked him to the floor then ran for the door. She threw it open, then screamed.

“Oh, hello,” Ivy greeted with a smile.

Then Nicky slammed a lamp into the back of her head and Hope blacked out.

B&B

“Welcome back.” She finished her greeting with a kiss. “How did it go? How was he?”

He sat down on the less-than-clean bed and she saw that his hands were shaking. “We didn't do a whole lot. The kid is heavy into foreplay. And she showed up before anything super serious could happen.”

Sitting down beside him, she grabbed her lover and partner's hands, his pale complexion contrasting nicely against her brown one. “Who was it, D? Was it your... Is she your mother? We knew that she was going to be a factor eventually. We planned on it.”

“There are a lot of things I could call Amber, but 'mother' is not one of them. Because of her, I grew up away from all of this. But it wasn't her, Babe. It was my sister. My real one. I was naked, in bed with her other brother, and she didn't know me. I looked her right in the eyes and she only saw a stranger. She's supposed to be in Italy.”

“Can we use that? You and I deserve this, D. They left us behind. They owe us for the shit that we had to grow up with.”

Lifting his head up, she looked into his eyes and saw that he was really hurt. She didn't like it. When they found each other, they were in the same boat: no money, no future, and left behind by siblings who forgot they existed when they found fame and fortune. They swore they'd never again have to suffer like peasants.

Things had been hard for Nicole Avant after her sister Maya left the family. D was the one thing she had going for her in life, and to see what was happening to him because of the Forresters and Logans made her sick. She didn't say anything more, she just loved her man as he lay his head in her lap. But as she stroked his hair, she thought of what their next step would be. So many of them had to pay for what she and D went through. Amber, Hope, Deacon, and, when she returned to LA from wherever she had gone, Maya was also on the list.

B&B

“I don't see why we couldn't have just gone to the American embassy. We didn't do anything wrong.” Noah rubbed his arms and smiled at the woman standing across from them. The semi trailer was crammed full of men and women, and even some children, and it broke Maya's heart knowing that most of them thought they were getting a better life in America.

“Because we lied our way into and then illegally bugged a black market plastic surgeon's office,” she reminded him. Somehow, they'd had just enough money to book passage on this truck. If it made it past the border, and she assumed the truck would, then they'd have to figure out their next step. Getting out of Mexico didn't mean being free from Fascinella and his goons.

She and Noah had compromised his operation. It was the one thing nobody else had even dreamed of doing. But as she stood in that heat, fighting the urge to faint and comforting poor, pampered Noah, Maya knew what they would have to do next.

Eventually, they would need to see about Ivy and Crichton-Clark and if they were connected to what happened with Courtney, but she and Noah needed to go to Chicago. They needed to learn more about what Eden was doing before Courtney took her place.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're sure she's alive?" Nicky was shaken up. He hadn't expected Hope. Out of everyone, she was probably the one he hated the least. He had enjoyed taunting her, watching her break, but when she lay bleeding at his feet it felt wrong.

He wondered if RJ was somehow responsible for that.

"She'll live. You're lucky I still have a cleanup crew on speed dial. Heh." Ivy ripped the beer from Nicky's hand and drank it. She stared at him, waiting for his reply.

"What are your people going to do with her?" Nicky turned his back to Ivy and looked in a nearby mirror. The look on his face, the pain he felt when he breathed, those were the only evidence he had that Hope had ever been in the loft. The blood and broken decor were gone. The remnants of the fight had already been cleared away.

It was a professional job. It was a reminder that Ivy could just as easily make him disappear.

"You don't need to know that, you toxic little queen. All you need to know is that I know where Hope is. And you had better hope nothing ever happens to me, or who knows what will happen to her."

Staring into the mirror, into his own eyes, Nicky wondered if Ivy knew. Did she know that he had talked to Aly? Did she know what he was plotting? He didn't know how she could know. He had worn all new clothes so she couldn't bug him. She'd never been to the Forrester Mansion after her return from the dead so she couldn't have cameras in Aly's room.

He shifted his eyes to Ivy's reflection, but she wasn't looking at him. She was just drinking the beer and playing with her phone. It was as if Hope hadn't been unconscious and bleeding on the floor just an hour ago.

"What are you doing here, Ivy? I could be wrong, but didn't you move out? You and that Theresa thing already packed up your shit."

"Oh! That's right. Thank you, RJ. I completely forgot because of all the excitement." Ivy stood, walked to the fridge, and reached around behind it. Nicky watched in the mirror as she produced an almost certainly illegal pistol. She looked right at him and smiled as she made sure the safety was on before stowing it away in her purse. "A girl can never be too careful these days."

Ricky stared at Ivy's purse in the mirror, then looked to her face. She seemed to be watching his reflection with the same intensity he had been watching hers.

Adjusting her purse strap, Ivy walked across the loft and up to her cousin, draping herself over his shoulder and resting her chin on top of his head.

"You know, not that I'm upset because the bitch had it coming, but why exactly did you bash in Hope's head?" Ivy asked, running her hands against the hair that Nicky had grown. It slightly too long to be a buzz cut, but too short to be anything else.

Shrugging Ivy off, Nicky stepped away from his cousin and the mirror. He threw several thoughts together, trying to find a plausible enough lie. Nobody could know he wasn't RJ. Not until he had fixed everything for his other self. Nicky didn't want to be the main: he didn't have the temperament to deal with people and he knew it, but RJ couldn't deal with Ivy or Steffy or any of the other people he called family. Nicky could and he would. He would scorch the earth and grow everything anew if that was what it took.

"She found out about me." Nicky looked over his shoulder and watched Ivy. She just waited for him to continue. "She talked to Rick and he told her that we blackmailed him into getting you a job. She figured out you did this to me."

Nicky turned all the way around and pointed to his injured face. Ivy laughed. He wanted so badly to be there when Aly killed the bitch. Except...

"Rick doesn't want it getting out, Ivy. He confided in her and she was going to go to Granddad, but she wanted to see me first. I panicked."

"You did good, Kid. Nice hustle."

Ivy's phone rang and she fished it out of her purse. She looked at the phone, puzzled, and then answered it. For the first time ever, RJ saw something like fear on her face.

"I need to leave. This call is important. We'll follow up tomorrow."

She made sure she had everything, then stormed out of the loft. Nicky collapsed into the bed and held his head. He didn't realize how much everything hurt. And without thinking about it, without trying, he'd screwed up his own plan on how to deal with Ivy.

RJ would be able to handle anything Nicky would do, given enough time, but Hope was his one bright spot. His sister was all he had when everything else crumbled, and if she were gone indefinitely RJ might never resurface. That was the one thing that Nicky couldn't handle.

B&B

"It's the show stopper of our new collection, Rick." Caroline watched her ex-husband's face carefully. It was the first thing they'd submitted since RJ poisoned the last line and Steffy's failed charity line had flopped: Forrester Creations needed a hit and she was certain this dress would be just that.

"It's offensive." Rick threw the design to the floor and crushed it under his heel. Caroline balled her hands into fists and set her jaw. "What in the world made you two idiots think this would ever fly? Especially with the way you wrecked the image of this company!"

"There is nothing offensive about the Heritage Collection, Rick," Ridge snarled, fingernails digging into the Styrofoam of his Big Gulp cup. "It's a celebration of the history of this country. Our international sales have barely been affected by this manufactured controversy. It's all domestic. This will fix that."

"Your big show stopping piece, the lynch pin, no pun intended, of the entire collection is styled after a hate symbol! You have to know what message this would send to our buyers."

"The Second Battle Flag of the Confederacy has nothing to do with hate, Rick," Caroline argued. How was he so ignorant? "If you would do your research, you'd know that. It's about Southern Pride, and right now our biggest market in America is in the South. Sales in Louisiana doubled what they were last quarter!"

Rick just stared at Caroline and she smirked smugly.

"Forrester is a classy fashion house, Rick. Just because you want to go chasing after ghetto demographics and are throwing me and Ridge under the bus to cover for your piss poor leadership doesn't mean our designs are bad. You're just a shitty CEO. If Ridge were in charge, RJ never would've been able to bug an office in this building."

"It was Ridge's office he bugged! Your idiot fiance¨ held the damn thing in his hands. You can't blame me for that!"

"If I were CEO, Brooke and Maya never would have left for L&M, Rick. Why can't you just admit that you're wrong?" Ridge emphasized his point by tearing open his hamburger wrapper with his teeth while Caroline nodded in agreement.

"Get out of my office. I don't have time for this."

"You don't have much time left period,” Caroline hissed under her breath as she stormed out of Rick's office, Ridge waddling behind her.

B&B

"Why are you contacting me? Our dealings are done." Ivy wasn't happy for a multitude of reasons. She liked having control. She controlled Rick. She controlled RJ. But this woman was uncontrollable and Ivy didn't like that. Even Pam, her unwitting nemesis, was safely stashed away in prison where her unpredictability was no longer Ivy's concern.

She pulled her scarlet trench coat close and played with the brim of her matching fedora. It was conspicuous, but Ivy wanted the woman to know she didn't care. She had almost wiped out the Port Charles mafia by herself: her downfall would not come at the hands of some random psychotic.

"I need your help."

"No, you do not." Ivy thought of the gun in her purse. Her purse was unlatched: if she needed it to deal with this nuisance, every second would count. "I helped you escape from Crichton-Clark, and you got rid of Quinn Fuller and her son Wyatt. That let you get a hold of that hideous bore Taylor. There is nothing more for us to discuss."

"You're wrong, Ivy Forrester. I do have something you want. I know why you needed Wyatt and Quinn out of Forrester. The walls of the clinic were thick, but not soundproof. I know why that man sent you here. I know where it is."

Angry and annoyed, Ivy whipped out her gun. It was a dilapidated parking garage. Nobody was around but homeless bums and runaway teenagers. She could slaughter any potential witnesses and her cleanup crew would dispose of anything connecting her to the scene.

"Do not toy with me, you crazy bitch. What did you hear?"

Sheila Carter laughed and slowly walked towards an increasingly unnerved Ivy, not stopping until the barrel of the gun was buried in the center of her chest. It took a moment for Ivy to realize her hand was shaking. With an annoyed sigh, she stowed the weapon away and took a step back from Sheila.

"What do you know?"

"I know you're after the Hope for the Future diamond. I don't know why that Jerry man wants it, but I know who has it."

"How can you know where it is?" Ivy hated that she brought out the gun in the first place. Sheila had taken control of the situation and it was simply unacceptable.

"Because it belonged to Wyatt Fuller, and I was his caretaker. Not for long, but for long enough. Forrester Creations didn't own that pebble. He did. But you knew that."

"His house was empty.. If he didn't have it, he had to be keeping it at Forrester," Ivy reason.

"Except it's not," Sheila finished with a smile. A cold chill ran down Ivy's spine, and she wondered if this was how the peons felt whenever she did the same to them. It was unpleasant. "But I know where it is."

"Where is it? What the hell do you need me to do?"

"The man who has your diamond also has my Diana, Ivy. Bill Spencer. While you were trying to steal that rock from Wyatt fuller's home, Bill Spencer stole my daughter from me."

"That doesn't tell me anything that I care about, Sheila. Bill's house was already on my list of places to search. It's just... Difficult at the moment."

"The diamond isn't at his house, Ivy. But my daughter is. And he's always with her. I need my Diana at my side, but she's always at his. Obviously, I can't pry them apart, but you can."

"Bill Spencer and I were never close, Sheila. I don't know what you expect me to do."

"I expect you to use the tools you have at your disposal, Ivy. Surely a capable woman like yourself can figure something out. Call me when you have something. That number I called you from? It works. But don't bother tracing it. You already know I'm in LA, and you know what I can do."

And as Sheila walked away, Ivy realized she was still shaking, though whether it was in fear or fury she didn't want to know.

B&B

It was bath time for her babies when Aly got the call. She was buffing Xa'myrth and gingerly sat him on the bed before reaching for her phone. It was a phone number she didn't know, and Aly found herself reluctant to answer it. What if the infidels had discovered her mission before she could complete it?

"You are interrupting me, you filthy swine!" Aly screamed into the phone after she finally answered it.

"That breaks my heart," RJ laughed into her ear. Aly's blood began to boil. "I'm calling it off."

"What?" Aly was confused. He had blackmailed her, but changed his mind before she could do anything? Why? The abomination was up to something. He was playing with her head, making her doubt herself. But she was stronger than his games. That strength was why Nyarlathotep had chosen her as his bride.

"You aren't killing Ivy. I know she's still alive. She's gonna stay that way. But I will collect on my favour eventually, Aly. Remember that." Then RJ hung up the phone.

Aly was livid. He was ordering her around like he owned her. He was just like Rick. She powered her phone off. No more calls. No more distractions. Ivy might no longer be the next sacrifice, but Aly had decided on who was. She picked Xa'myrth back up and held his sharp blade to her palm, baptizing him with her blood.

The next child to be baptized would be bathed in the blood of RJ Logan. Aly just hoped her poor baby wouldn't catch the AIDS. It was impossible to know what diseases that filthy beast was carrying around.


	6. Chapter 6

"This place is... big." RJ said as Theresa led him to the living room. She didn't reply to him, which was just as well because Ivy did.

"The interior decorators are coming out in a couple days. I didn't want to move back into the mansion I shared with Julian. All those memories, they haunt me, so I bought this place. It's nice and secluded. Don't you think?"

"Your driveway alone is a five minute car ride." RJ sat down in a chair opposite Ivy and Theresa looked to her boss, waiting to be told what to do next.

"Theresa, be a dear and get us some drinks. Coffee for my petite cousin, whiskey for me. And feel free to make something for yourself. We have a lot to discuss."

"Why do you need me, Ivy?" RJ asked, sounding very nervous as Theresa walked to the nearby drink stand. She'd already brewed a pot of coffee, so she poured that first. After making sure nobody was looking, Theresa spat in it, then picked up a spoon.

"Any cream or sugar?" She asked, looking at the shrunken freak.

"Black is fine." RJ's tone was dismissive and he didn't even look at Theresa, so she spat in his drink again.

Already knowing how Ivy was, Theresa just grabbed a full bottle of Wild Turkey and an empty shot glass Even though she wasn't thirsty, Theresa tucked herself a bottle of water under her arm.

"Here you are, Ms. Forrester," Theresa said, placing the booze and empty glass in front of her boss, and holding the hot coffee mug out to RJ with the other.

"Well?" RJ looked right at Theresa, but didn't take the cup. She put it on the table and sat next to Ivy on the sofa.

"RJ, I know you aren't particularly close to the Forresters. I mean, I am one by blood and they don't even talk to me, but you've been around these people longer than I have."

"You say that like it's a good thing." RJ propped his feet up on the table, picked up his coffee mug, and took a sip. Theresa held back a smile. "You do know the only person those people hate more than me is you, right?"

Ivy smirked. "Yes, well, about that. I've heard that there used to be someone they hated more than both of us combined."

"Really? Do tell." RJ took another sip of his coffee and grinned. The bruising on his face was already fading, so Theresa flashed back to when Ivy beat him up. That was a good memory.

"RJ, at the office yesterday, I heard someone mention a Sheila Carter. Does the name ring a bell?"

Theresa had never heard the name before in her life. She pulled out her phone, ready to Google the woman, but Ivy reached out and placed her hand on the screen. Looking up, Theresa saw that her eyes were glued to RJ.

After setting his coffee on the table, RJ scratched at the peach fuzz he was trying to grow on his face. "Actually, it does. I never met the woman myself. Or I don't think I did. But she shot Grandmother once."

"Stephanie?" Ivy asked for clarification, staring at her cousin. The tension in the air was making Theresa nervous.

"That's the one! Evil old bitch. I'd have like to have seen her face as she bled out. And Sheila killed Taylor once, too."

"She killed Taylor? Steffy's mum?"

With a nod, RJ developed a disgusted look on his face. "Unfortunately, the cunt got better. Why are you asking about Sheila Carter, though? Bitch has been dead for awhile from what I gather."

"Oh, I was just hoping we could get a new player in our little game, but if that's not possible we'll have to make do with just the three of us."

"Who is the third?" RJ sat up and looked over his shoulder. Theresa wished lightening would strike him down.

"She means me," Theresa interjected. Ivy nodded in agreement with her assistant.

For his part, RJ just looked confused. "And who are you?"

"Theresa Donovan," she smiled, choking back her hate. "I'm Ivy's personal assistant. We met when you got those lovely bruises on your face and ribs."

"I don't talk to the help."

Ivy threw the shot glass at RJ, who threw his hands up and jerked his feet off the table.

"As far as I'm concerned, you BOTH work for me, you homosexual of limited size. Do not forget that." Ivy opened the whiskey bottle and took a healthy swig. Then she stared at her cousin, as if daring him to speak.

And dare he did. "Okay, fine, I work for you. It's not like I have anything else to do. What do you need?"

"I need you two to keep Bill Spencer from going home tonight. He has a new daughter, and I need to have a talk with her without him around."

"Celia? I've met her. No presence whatsoever." RJ leaned forward and picked his coffee back up. Theresa cracked open her bottle of water and took a drink because she felt left out. "Why do you need to see her?"

"You don't need to know that. All you need to know is what I tell you. Are we clear?" Ivy took a long swig of the whiskey without flinching. Theresa wondered if the woman was even human.

"Crystal." RJ smiled and sipped his coffee. "Actually, I've needed to deal with Bill for awhile anyway. Does it matter what we do to keep him away?"

"RJ, I couldn't give a damn."

"Lovely." The kid took another drink of his coffee and looked right at Theresa. "So, you, would you rather wear a wig or dye your hair?"

B&B

"We should get married." Caroline rolled on top of Ridge and brushed the Cheetos crumbs from his chest. She smiled down at him, feeling nothing but happiness.

"I thought I already proposed," Ridge laughed, leaning up to kiss his fiancee who readily acquiesced.

After the kiss had ended, Caroline tried to run her hand through his hair but it got stuck partway through. She grunted a bit as she tried to pry her fingers loose. Ridge helped her get free. He always helped her: it was why she loved him.

"We never set a date. We never even discussed one." She climbed out of the bed and reached for the robe lying on top of the backup mini fridge. Looking back to Ridge, Caroline smiled. "With all the horrible things our families have gone through the last few months, we need something to celebrate.

"And I can't stand not being Mrs. Ridge Forrester."

"Do you want to elope?" Ridge asked as he tried to sit up. It took three tries before he succeeded.

Shaking her head, Caroline grabbed her hairbrush from its place beside the ice cream machine and ran it through her hair. "No, Ridge. I want my moms there. My whole family. Yours, too. I want everyone in the whole world to know how much I love you."

"It's a nice thought," Ridge agreed. "But I don't know how it would work. Steffy hates you. Bill hates me. RJ hates both of us."

"They won't stop the wedding, Ridge. They can try, but I don't just believe our love is stronger than them: I know it is."

He smiled and it made Caroline want to jump and squeal. "Okay then. We're getting married."

Caroline did squeal as she jumped back on the bed, wrapping her arms around 2/3 of her love.

B&B

"Layla Williamson?” Thomas thought she looked like the woman in all the pictures he'd seen, but didn't want to be presumptuous. Regardless, she stole his ability to breathe when she smiled.

"That's me. And you're Thomas Forrester?" It was obvious she was asking solely for clarification. He nodded.

They made small talk as they walked out of LAX. He hadn't taken the private jet: no reason to let his family know he was coming. It wasn't until they reached Layla's car that anything of note was said between them.

"Thank you," Layla said as she buckled up. She looked in her rear view mirror, then to her passenger.

"You're welcome," Thomas told her with a smile. "I haven't been in LA for awhile. A lot happened while I was away."

"Most of it bad," Layla agreed. "This really isn't the best way for us to meet, is it?"

Turning up his charm, Thomas relaxed into his seat after fastening his own seat belt. "I don't mind. Really. We've heard rumblings at International of how bad things are here. And that's not including the things that actually made it to press."

"Rick is running Forrester into the ground, Thomas. It's not all his fault, though."

"That tape of my dad and Caroline? Yeah. That was bad. I'm sorry you went through that. I didn't know she was like that when we were together. And my dad... He was always awful, but before Caroline he was never racist. Not really."

Layla shook her head and started the car. "I'm telling you this in the strictest of confidence. I shouldn't, but you need to know how bad things have gotten: RJ didn't leak that tape."

Thomas closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, the car was already reversing and Layla was decidedly not looking at him. He stayed silent and let her continue.

"They, Ridge and Caroline, have been horrible to me since Rick hired me. They've always danced around it, but it's because I'm black." Layla took a deep breath and Thomas saw her grip tighten on the steering wheel. "I'm used to snide remarks and other bullshit, but this was a campaign of outright hate. So I did something about it. Me and Maya."

"Maya Avant? Our former lead model who defected to L&M?"

It was not a surprise when Layla nodded. "Yeah. Her. They did the same thing to her until she left. So we took the idea to Rick and got RJ to plant the bug. We didn't expect your nephew to go as far with it as he did."

"RJ is my brother." Thomas corrected.

"How can you people even keep this shit straight?" Layla rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you know that right after that Maya was outed, RJ almost died, and a million other things happened. And Rick didn't care. He was just mad your dad and Caroline didn't resign. He can't fire them. He doesn't have the votes from the board."

"And he brought Ivy back."

With a nod, Layla pulled out of the airport parking lot. "Things at Forrester keep getting worse. Battle lines are being drawn between people who support Rick and people who support your dad, and Ivy is just running around being a monster to everyone. She made an intern cry yesterday just because she could."

"Well, I'm glad you called. Since you brought this to my attention, I've been trying to think of something I can do to help, but I only own 5% of the company. I need you to stay at Forrester, be my eyes and ears. We'll figure this out."

Thomas just hoped he could live up to his words.

B&B

"There's nothing here," Noah groaned as he sat on Eden's sofa. "There is nothing connecting Eden to Courtney."

Maya looked around the apartment. They had gotten lucky. A year long lease had been signed, and Eden's family hadn't come out to collect her things. It was just... There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Nothing except you," she reminded her friend. Noah was the only link they could find between the two women. "You're the only thing binding them together. And you're sure they never met? Never shared friends?"

"I told you, I didn't meet Courtney until well after Eden moved here to Chicago. God, she was a cop, Maya. A cop! They're supposed to be better than this."

"So you'd think," she sighed, remembering her own less-than-pleasant experiences with law enforcement. "But Courtney being a cop has nothing to do with any of this. Why does Eden still have an apartment in Chicago when Courtney was impersonating her in Los Angeles? It makes no sense. Nothing we've learned makes sense. How could Courtney afford those surgeries on a cop's salary? You told me her family isn't rich."

"And they're not," Noah confirmed again. He kicked the coffee table and ran his hands through his hair. "Maya, I met her parents. Lovely people, even if they do live in a trailer park. Courtney lived with them the entire time we were together. She couldn't even afford her own place because she was paying their lot rent and utilities."

Maya knew better than to ask why Noah didn't offer to help. She had been where Courtney was. She had pride and refused help from people with money. She never pretended to be someone she wasn't, though.

And they were spending so much time on the why and how, that everything else was being forgotten.

"We need to go, Noah. We just aren't going to find anything here."

"California or New York?" Noah asked dejectedly.

For her part, Maya offered a comforting smile and pulled a penny out of her pocket. "Heads we go to LA and talk to Ivy, Tails we go to that clinic in New York."

B&B

"They're leaving, Mr. Newman," the man reported. He pulled his cap low and watched from across the street as his targets left the building. "They have nothing."

"Of course they don't!" Victor laughed into the phone. "We've had that place ready for them since that foolish tramp died. I hope my grandson appreciates how much it cost to keep Fascinella from retaliating. What is their next move?"

"The bug in the apartment picked up that they're going to New York to investigate Crichton-Clark, Sir. But they dropped a name you might find interesting."

"Oh? And what might that name be?"

"A woman in Los Angeles by the name of Ivy."

"Ivy? As in Ivy Forrester? Are you certain?” Victor sounded concerned, and it troubled his subordinate.

“Yes, Sir. It is the most likely conclusion.”

“But why on Earth would Ivy Forrester be connected to this? She wasn't even in Los Angeles then.” Victor hung up and the man stowed his phone away.


	7. Chapter 7

Nicky's phone kept buzzing. He was doing his best to ignore it, to sit at the bar drinking his virgin strawberry daiquiri since the asshole bartender carded him, but it was proving difficult.

All he had to do was wait for Theresa to make her move and have his phone ready to snap the picture or film the video, whichever would give the best material. That was going to be hard since Ridge had called him three times ten minutes with no intention of stopping.

On the sixth call, Nicky gave in and answered, his eyes locked on his partner and their target: Theresa was already chatting Bill up and he was drinking heavily while she was still on her first glass of wine.

"What do you want?" Nicky hissed into the phone.

There was a cough before Ridge answered. "Hi, Son. Caroline and I are getting married this Saturday. We've got Katie and Will over for dinner and she's agreed to let us have the ceremony at their place. I was hoping you'd be willing to set your anger aside and come to the wedding. Maybe even be one of my groomsmen."

Nicky tapped his chin for a few seconds before answering. "I would rather set myself on fire and jump into one of the tar pits before I go to another one of your weddings. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a guy in my bed wanting to know if I'm going to climb on his dick or not. Take a guess what the answer is."

After hanging up on Ridge, Nicky looked back to Theresa and Bill. If Katie and Will were with Ridge and Caroline, Celia was probably home alone. He made sure to text this info to Ivy.

"Hey there." A guy sat next to Nicky and pointed at the bartender. "I'll have one of whatever he's having."

"It's a virgin." Nicky didn't even bother looking at the guys face.

"And you're not."

Turning to look at his bar mate, Nicky thought he looked familiar but couldn't place him. "Who are you?"

"D. We... uh... we met the other night." The guy looked uncomfortable and Nicky chuckled.

"Oh. Right. You. Sorry about that bitch interrupting us. What's the 'D' stand for?" He wasn't really interested, but it made for a good cover.

The man ran a finger the length of Nicky's forearm and whispered a response in his ear. "Why tell you when I can show you?"

The bartender delivered D's drink and Nicky watched his mouth work the straw. It made him wonder what else that mouth could do.

"Give me your phone," Nicky ordered. He held his palm flat and the guy reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and handed it over. As he began typing his number into it, the man's hand found itself on Nicky's thigh and his lips were once again brushing against his ear.

"How about we get out of here? I'm famished and I'm craving that ass."

Snorting, Nicky put the name "RJ" into the phone and saved the contact, then gave D back the phone. "You'll have to get takeout, I'm afraid. I already have plans for tonight."

"Are you sure?" D bumped his shoulder into Nicky's and his breath was hot on the other man's neck. "Last chance."

"Seriously. Text me tomorrow." Then Nicky looked into D's eyes and knew there was more to the man than lust. It intrigued him. "Good night, D."

"Good night, RJ. I'll text you tomorrow," D promised as he slipped away from Nicky and the bar and disappeared into the small crowd. He left his drink behind so Nicky snagged it and took a sip before cursing under his breath: the bartender had made it a virgin.

Pushing away thoughts of the man who wanted back in his bed, Nicky looked back to Theresa and a clearly inebriated Bill. Ridge and Caroline and their stupid wedding bubbled up from the back of his mind and it gave Nicky a brilliant idea. He just hoped Theresa would go along with it.

B&B

There was no party to welcome Taylor Hayes back to Los Angeles. Aside from Ridge and her daughter, nobody else seemed to care that she had been gone. She received no phone calls or texts asking how she was doing with her recovery abroad.

Not that she had been in recovery. Yes, she had flown a physical therapist all around the world with her, and as a result Taylor could hobble around on crutches, but when she told her ex-husband and their daughter that she needed to get away for her mental health, she had lied.

Jackie had been her first stop. As Massimo's one time lover and mother of his child, she seemed the most likely to have heard from Taylor's cohort. Except Jackie hadn't heard from him in years. And neither had Nick, Ridge's half-brother and Jackie's son. They had both moved on with their lives and lost touch with Massimo, just like Taylor.

"Welcome home," she told herself as she unlocked her front door and let herself inside. The maid had kept coming by while she was gone because the place was spotless.

With a grunt, Taylor dragged herself to the sofa and collapsed. She hadn't planned on returning until she had found Massimo, but Bill Spencer had forced her hand. He'd found Celia and was parading the young woman around as though she were his own child. That needed to stop.

As formidable as Bill fancied himself, he'd never dealt with Sheila Carter. He was no match for the madwoman. Taylor needed for him to understand the danger in which he was putting his entire family: the danger that Celia had been exposed to without the knowledge needed to keep herself safe.

But all that would have to wait, because Taylor had flown from Greece to Los Angeles and she was tired. She was so very tired.

B&B

By the time the doorbell rang, the staff had already gone home. Celia wondered if perhaps it was Katie or her father and they'd forgotten their key. It wasn't like it was needed to get through the gate.

She looked through the peephole and screamed.

"Well, now I know you're home, Miss Fitzgerald. You know who I am, so it would be in your best interests to open this door," Ivy Forrester called. "I'm waiting."

Biting back a sob, Celia unlocked the door. Her entire body trembled as she opened it and she couldn't bring herself to look at Ivy.

"There. Now was that so bad?" The Australian thug barged into the mansion, hitting Celia with the door before slamming it shut. "How are you doing? It must be a difficult adjustment, going from some backwoods hovel to the capitol of the entertainment industry."

"Please don't hurt me," Celia begged with a whisper, head lowered and eyes locked on the floor. "Take whatever you want. I won't tell anyone you were here."

"They'll know I was here, Celia. Bill has cameras. But he doesn't scare me. You were right to be afraid of me, though. I am the big bad boogeywoman. And what is want is you."

Ivy grabbed Celia's arm and the young woman cried out of shock. The grip was strong, Ivy's fingers biting into her skin like the teeth of a bear trap.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll come quietly. There's someone who needs to see you." Ivy's threat was ice cold but Celia could see a hateful fire in the woman's eyes.

"Who? I don't know anyone in LA!" Tears freely ran down Celia's and the look of disdain on Ivy's face just made her want to cry even harder.

To Celia's surprised, Ivy leaned in and whispered the six words that guaranteed her cooperation: "Your mother wants to meet you."

B&B

Aly chuckled as she ran the whetstone over Arnketopah. Her newest baby: a gift from her beloved husband. She whispered words of encouragement to the infant as she sharpened his edges.

"You shall do well, Little One. You are my family now. Our family. And with you at my side, I shall prune the diseased branches from our family tree. Yes, Arnketopah, you are special."

As the sparks showered the air, as the sound of metal bowing to stone sang through the air, Aly thought of RJ. She thought of how he would scream and cry, perhaps even fight back. But mostly, she thought of how he would die.

And as she dreamed of her cousin's blood drenching the walls and staining the floor, Aly smiled. She smiled because Nyarlathotep had told her RJ was to be the last one. Her husband would finally come to her and they would be reunited as their children fed on the flesh and bone of the degenerates of a diseased and filthy Earth.

B&B

"We're here!" Ivy announced angrily. She was not some delivery person, and the package had refused to shut up the entire ride over.

The beach was nearly empty. A few hipsters and homeless people were littered about, having sex in the sand or trying to soak up what little warmth remained from the long expired daylight. It wasn't ideal, but there were no crimes taking place so it didn't matter if there were witnesses.

A woman emerged from the shadows and Ivy involuntarily stiffened. Celia noticed the changed and reacted, looking away from the approaching stranger.

"Diana." The woman's voice was shaking and so was her hand. Sheila Carter would've convinced anyone else that she was afraid, but Ivy knew it was just a performance.

Celia fell for it.

"She goes by Celia," Ivy corrected as the psychotic nurse reached out and touched her daughter's face.

She just stood there, staring at her mother, and Ivy knew the young woman didn't know how to act in the situation. Ivy also suspected she didn't know how to tie her own shoes.

"Momma?" Celia was crying again, smiling but apprehensive. "Is it you? Where have you been? Why did you give me up?"

Sheila hugged her daughter. She patted Celia's back as she rocked her in her arms. "I never gave you up, Baby. Your father stole you from me. He hid you all these years. But I found you. You were in Pine Valley and I wanted so badly to come to you but you were taken again before I could. My Diana."

"My name is Diana." Celia laughed pulled away from Sheila. She was all smiles as she looked into Sheila's eyes.

Ivy felt ill.

"I named you after me," Sheila lied with a grin that radiated sincerity.

"Then your name is..."

"Diana Colville. And you, my daughter, aren't Celia Fitzgerald or Celia Spencer. You're Diana Colville II. My baby is all grown up and I missed it!"

Sheila squeezed out a few tears and Ivy had to turn away before she began vomiting. People called her crazy and a terrorist, but everything she did had a purpose: even if that purpose was just entertainment. But Sheila? She was clever and charming and absolutely insane and that terrified Ivy.

She had to do something to neutralize this threat. There had to be something she could do to get rid of Sheila Carter without tipping off the Forresters or Bill Spencer. They couldn't know she was involved in the madwoman's return. Not until she had the diamond.

"Why did Dad hide me? What happened between you two?"

This time, Sheila looked sad. Ivy rubbed her arms and listened to the latest well spun lie.

"We met when his father inquired about buying my old newspaper. It ended up not happening, but I met Bill and it was love at first sight." Sheila stepped away from Celia and turned her head as if ashamed. "He courted me. No man had ever done that before or since. We truly did love each other, my Diana, but I was a fool. After we learned I was pregnant with you, I met another man and I strayed. I cheated on your father.

"It was one time, but when Bill found out, he was furious. I feared for my life and ran. It didn't matter how far or how fast I traveled: he always found me. When I was in the hospital, when I birthed my baby girl, he found us and he took you. You know how rich the Spencers are. He paid off the hospital and the police and he hid you from me."

"Until you found me."

Sheila ran back to Celia and held her. She kissed her temple and Celia cried. "That's right, Baby Girl. Once I found you, and you were too old for him to just move you against your will, he revealed himself. He wanted to do anything he could to keep you away from me. But he failed, because you're in my arms where you belong."

All things considered, Ivy supposed it was plausible enough a lie. If investigated too deeply, it would fall apart, but Celia was an idiot and there had to be a reason Bill was lying about being her father.

"But what about her?" Celia looked to Ivy.

Ivy stared back, but tried to keep her disdain from appearing on her face. "What about me?"

"Mom, she's... Ivy Forrester isn't a good person. Why is she helping you? What does she get out of this?"

With a genuine smile of her own, Ivy crossed her arms. This was going to be fun.

"Your father stole something from Ivy, Honey. Something important. So she agreed to help reunite us if we help her get it back. And for that, I need your help."

"What is it, Mom? What does she need from Dad?"

And as Sheila told her daughter about the diamond, Ivy continued to smile. Not because her mission was nearing completion: Ivy had figured out how to get the diamond and get rid of Sheila Carter without anyone knowing she was involved.


	8. Chapter 8

"Why are we in Port Charles?" Noah asked as they sat in a booth. The place was named Kelly's and there was a sign for BLTs on the front door. It reminded him of the places he'd go when he and his ex Adriana used to visit upstate when he lived in New York City.

"Because this is where Ivy was last seen before she was in Crichton-Clark," Maya explained as they waited for someone to take their order.

Noah shook his head before looking around for their server. "But we're not investigating Ivy. We're trying to figure out what happened to Courtney."

"And we've reached a dead end on that front," Maya reminded him. She grabbed one of the menus nestled between the ketchup bottle and the steak sauce. "The only lead we have is that Ivy and Courtney were both in Crichton-Clark around the same time, and both saw Fascinella. It can't be a coincidence that they were there at the same time."

"But how would Ivy know Courtney? Courtney was supposed to have died before I moved to LA. I've never even met Ivy. I only knew about her through RJ and the press."

Maya sighed and faked a smile when the waitress finally came over to take their orders. After she left, Maya looked back to Noah. "We can investigate Ivy here first, see if we can turn anything up, and then hit up Crichton-Clark later."

"Did you say Crichton-Clark?" A short Asian man joined them at the booth, squeezing in next to Noah. "How do you know about that place?"

"Who are you?" Maya stared at the interloper.

He smiled at up at Noah. "Brad Cooper. I manage the lab at General Hospital. Are you single?"

"Um. I guess so, yeah." Noah looked as uncomfortable as Maya felt. "You know Crichton-Clark?"

"Oh yeah. My boss was there when the place blew up last year."

Noah and Maya looked at each other. When they researched the place on the plane ride to New York, there was nothing about it blowing up.

"It blew up?"

"Oh yeah. Late last year. They rebuilt it awfully fast. It was kept all hush hush, though." Brad never stopped staring at Noah's jaw. "How old are you?"

Maya cleared her throat but this Brad guy didn't look at her. Noah wouldn't stop looking at her: he was uncomfortable. It was almost amusing.

"Do you know Ivy Forrester?"

That question was what was did it. Brad looked away from Noah and to Maya. It was suddenly his turn to be uncomfortable. "Ivy Forrester? How do you know her?"

"I'm Maya Avant."

"Who?"

That was the first time she'd ever had that reaction from someone. "The former lead model for Forrester Creations? The current lead model for Logan & Moore? Ivy worked at both companies before she came here."

"I am a lab manager at a county hospital. I wear scrubs to work and my idea of high fashion is the clearance rack at K-Mart."

"Believe me, we can tell." Maya nodded at Brad's plaid shirt. "Is there a reason you came interrupted our private conversation?"

At that, Brad looked back to Noah who quickly looked at the ceiling. "I just thought I'd be friendly. Introduce myself to the tourists. We don't get too many of those around here. Journalists investigating how Port Charles is after one woman wiped out the mob by herself, sure, but no actual tourists. You two aren't journalists, are you?"

"I'm a super model," Maya reminded him.

"And you?" Brad asked Noah, who recoiled when a hand found itself on his thigh.

"I'm a musician, I guess."

"Really? What do you play?" Brad was leaning so far into Noah's personal space that even Maya felt violated. "You wanna play something for me?"

"I'm really not... I'm not prepared for that. We're travelling light," Noah explained nervously, his back against the wall. "My guitar is back in Los Angeles."

Not bothered at all, Brad licked his lips and put his face inches away from Noah. "I can get you two into Crichton-Clark as soon as tomorrow."

"Why would you do that?" Maya asked suspiciously. "How would you do that?"

"I told you: my boss was there when it exploded last time. She has contacts and I'm friends with her daughter. A couple of phone calls, and you're in. I don't really care why you need to get there."

"But what do you want from us in return. You aren't doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

Brad turned away from Noah and grinned at Maya. "I'm really not."

Swallowing his pride, Noah grabbed Brad's face and turned his head so they were looking at each other. Then he kissed him. It was hard and rough and Brad pushed his body so hard against Noah's that his head banged into the wall but none of that mattered. It didn't even matter that the three other patrons in the restaurant were staring at them.

"Where and when?" Noah breathed against Brad's lips.

The man smiled and kissed Noah again before whispering a time and address in his ear. After nodding at a very shocked Maya, he excused himself and left.

"That was too easy." Maya glared at the other customers and the staff until they looked away. "How did you know?"

With a nonchalant shrug, Noah played the salt shaker. "It's not my first time at the rodeo, Maya. And it's not a big deal. He's kinda hot, and I've fucked a lot worse for a lot less."

"I guess," she mumbled under her breath as she averted her eyes.

B&B

The ceremony was pleasant, if unspectacular. Katie was proud that Bill was behaving himself, and it was lovely of Caroline to let her new cousin Celia be her Maid of Honour while Steffy stood at her dad's side as Best Woman. It was adorable how nervous she looked in her tux, trying to hide her annoyance and disdain.

"This is going really well," Katie whispered to her husband as she slid her hand into his and gave it a loving squeeze.

"It should. It cost me enough. Why am I paying for this thing? I'm not her father and I hate the groom!" Bill whispered back. It took everything Katie had not to laugh. Bill was always going to be Bill.

The vows were beautiful. Ridge shared one of his poems, and Caroline talked about how she relearned everything with Ridge, from drawing on a sketchpad to eating ice cream right out of the bucket.

But when the minister asked if anyone objected to the marriage, everyone in the house turned to the entrance. They weren't disappointed.

"I was going to make a big declaration, but you guys beat me to it." RJ looked different. It wasn't just that he was wearing blue jeans and a black tank top, though that was odd in and of itself, but Katie's nephew walked with a swagger and determination he never had before. "Yeah, I do object to this freak show."

Ridge's mouth hung open but nothing came out, so Caroline spoke for the both of them. "Get out of here, RJ! You had your invitation and you threw it in our faces! You aren't stopping this wedding."

"I don't have to," he replied as he sauntered down the aisle, pulling his phone from his pocket. "This whole affair never had a chance of lasting. You might not have known it, but he did. I warned you about him, Caroline, but you just didn't listen."

Finally, Ridge found his voice. "Son, she's right. You need to leave."

Then RJ laughed and the entirety of the audience grew uncomfortable. "I'll leave, but I just couldn't let you get married without you seeing what I have on this phone first. Because after you see it, marrying Caroline will be the last thing on your mind."

"Go home!" Caroline screamed, on the verge of tears.

RJ ignored her as he pulled up whatever was on his phone and showed it to his father. Ridge, Caroline, and Carter all watched, but nobody else could see what RJ was showing them.

After a few seconds, it didn't matter because Ridge was huffing and puffing his way into the assembled as he tackled Bill. Katie ran from her seat as the two men started slugging each other.

"You little bitch!" Caroline snatched the phone from from RJ and rewound the video. As her expression ran the gamut of emotions, going from fear to shock to revulsion before settling on anger, RJ just smirked and watched her. Everyone else who wasn't watching Bill and Ridge was watching them.

"What do you think? I know the lighting isn't exactly professional, but we made do with what we had. I think it came out great, personally. Much better than my last one. There's sound, too, if you wanna turn the volume up."

Caroline threw the phone to the side, where it landed at Steffy's feet, and slapped RJ so hard he fell over. "What is wrong with you? Why would you do this on my wedding day?"

As he picked himself up off the floor, RJ was still wearing that same demeaning grin. "Oh, I was so hoping you'd do that."

Katie gasped as RJ punched Caroline in the face, then kicked her in the stomach. He smashed a haymaker into the side of her head that knocked her to the ground.

"That's for Maya," RJ told Caroline as he hovered over her. Then he spat in her face. "And that was for the hell of it."

With a vengeful cry, Caroline jumped up and tackled RJ, landing blow after blow to his face while everyone else looked on at the carnage. Everyone but Steffy, who Katie saw staring at RJ's phone.

"THIS. IS. MY. WEDDING!" Caroline grunted between blows. With a swiftness Katie had never seen before, RJ snatched one of Caroline's arms and pulled it to his bloody mouth before biting down. She wailed in pain and punched him with her free fist three time before he turned her loose.

As she pulled her injured arm away and instinctively surveyed the damage, RJ slammed his fists into her chest which caused her to fall backwards and off of him.

"There is no wedding!" RJ screamed as he climbed to his feet and stomped on Caroline's face. At that point, the initial shock had worned off and Liam ran up and pulled the two combatants apart. Nobody was paying attention to Bill and Ridge rolling around in the background.

"What is wrong with you? Caroline is a woman! You can't hit her." Liam yelled as Aly came up and helped Caroline to her feet. Katie noticed that the young woman was staring at RJ, but thought nothing of it because so was everything else.

"The hell I can't. I'm an old school feminist, Liam," RJ laughed, blood dribbling down his chin and onto his shirt. "Equality of the sexes, Bitch! She wants to hit me, then I'm gonna hit her back. And if that means she gets her ass kicked, then it's not my problem."

"Don't bother trying to reason with him, Liam. He's a Logan. They're beyond reach." Steffy marched up to her brother, phone in one hand and slapping him with the other. "You're not my brother."

Something about RJ's posture changed after he recovered from the blow, but Katie couldn't pick out what it was. "What are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said. You aren't my brother. Not anymore. The transformation is complete. You're a full blown Logan, just like Hope and Brooke. You're just an overrated, untalented whore."

"Not today, Satan!" RJ screamed, kicking his leg up and hitting Steffy's hand, sending the phone flying towards Katie who caught it. "You of all people have NO right to call anyone a whore."

Twisting free, RJ kicked Liam in the groin and jumped at Steffy. His forehead slammed into her lips and they both fell to the ground. They clawed at each other, and RJ ripped out a huge chunk of Steffy's hair with his left hand. It took a few moments, but Caroline leapt back into the fray. All three rolled around on the ground biting, scratching, and kicking at each other.

As if realizing she was holding the phone, Katie looked away from the violence and to the screen: she saw that it was definitely a video. Katie pushed play and saw her husband lying on his back without a shirt, looking as if he was in pain. Except the camera panned away from his face and there were hands on Bill's bare chest.

Even though she wanted to look away, Katie kept watching while everyone else fought each other. The camera traveled up the arms of the person gyrating on her husband until it reached the person's face. RJ's face. When the camera pulled back and showed that RJ was riding her husband, who was willingly bucking into her nephew, Katie dropped the phone and vomited.

"Haaaaaaaaa!!!" Katie heard RJ's laughter break through the screaming as she ran into her house. She heard it long after the fight had been broken up and RJ had been escorted off the premises.


	9. Chapter 9

"This is hilarious," Ivy laughed after pausing the video. She looked up at her cousin and laughed. "I am actually proud of you, my tiny poofter. You fucked your uncle, filmed it, showed it to your dad on his wedding day, beat up his bride, filmed THAT, and put both videos online. You are one conniving mini-slut."

"Thank you," RJ said, beaming through his bruises and split lip. "I couldn't have done it without Theresa. She got his ass drunk and got him started. I just slipped in and took all the credit."

"Looks more like Bill is the one who slipped it in, if you were to ask me," Ivy laughed.

"It really hurt at first, too. Now I get all the stallion talk," RJ mused while Ivy smirked. "I mean, Noah ain't small and I thought Thad was rough, but damn. Bill started choking me! If you get around to watching the full video, you'll see that."

"And the midget got off on it, too. Do you know how hard it was to record 30 damn minutes of that shit without talking?" Theresa handed Ivy her glass of red wine, then joined RJ on the sofa and gave him one of the two beers in her possession.

"Thirty minutes?" Ivy gagged, then covered it by taking a sip of her wine.

"He wanted to do a lot of things." RJ shrugged and twisted the cap off his beer. "I had no idea what most of them were until after I agreed. They made for great video, though."

Ivy blinked and opened her Twitter app. "Oh, I can tell. Your name is trending on Twitter. Again. Bill pissed on you?"

"Golden showers, Ivy. Golden showers."

"I used to sleep with a guy who wanted me to pissed on him," Theresa revealed more than a little too happily. "Chad and I used to fist each other, too."

"Ooooookay, then." Ivy had murdered people, and the combined sexual exploits of her cousin and assistant were making her squeamish. "I get why you recorded the sex tape. It fucked up your dad's wedding and Ridge is trash so I get it, but why record the fight?"

RJ poked at the bruise under his left eye before answering. "That one was Theresa's idea. She was my ride to the wedding. I didn't plan on there being a video of the whole thing, but there is and the press can't stop talking about it."

"I get so tired of the Forresters talking about me being white trash. I didn't grow up in a trailer park!"

Holding up a finger, Ivy was on the verge of commenting on Theresa's social status when her phone rang. When she saw who it was, she groaned and answered the phone anyway. "Dez, how did you get this number?"

"Mum." The woman didn't elaborate further. It wasn't really necessary. "Listen, Ivy, you married some old dude and inherited a ton of cash. Can you float me a loan? I may or may not have set Shakira's dad's car on fire when I found out he was fucking that bitch Karen."

"Why the hell would I give you money?" Ivy scoffed and glared at Theresa and RJ, who both suddenly found the couch cushions interesting. "If you were sloppy enough to get caught, you deserve whatever you get. Fucking slag."

"Oh, that's a nice way to talk to your sister. America changed you, Ivy. You weren't always such a cunt."

"Maybe not, but you always were a stupid whore."

"Fuck you, Bitch!"

"Fuck you, too, Dez!" Ivy screamed into her phone before throwing it against the wall. Looking back to her company, Ivy collected herself and apologized. "Sorry. My sister and I... RJ, have you ever met Desiree?"

"I don't think so."

"How I envy you." Ivy wanted a cigarette, which was odd because she didn't smoke, so instead she drained her wine glass and barked at Theresa to get her a refill.

"Listen, this has been a lot of fun, but I need to go home. I am expecting a gentleman caller tonight and I'd like to do what I can to clean myself up."

"Theresa can drive you home," Ivy offered. He nodded his acceptance. "And RJ? I like the new look. It's almost masculine. Maybe when we're both free we can get you some new clothes. I'm Australian, so I know how to butch up a poofter of any size."

"Go to hell."

"I'm sure I will, but I'm gonna have a lot of fun before I do."

Theresa handed Ivy her wine, and Ivy grabbed her forearm. "Take the kid home, and then take care of that thing we discussed the other day."

Her assistant just nodded, and Ivy smiled as she stared at the brim of her wine glass.

B&B

"You're back!" Maya almost hugged Noah, but then she smelled him. "And you reek!"

"He didn't even let me shower. As soon as we were done, I was in the hallway in my boxer-briefs and my clothes were scattered all over the floor. I'm missing a sock." Carefully, Noah sat down on the bed of their hotel room and smiled. "We got in, though. We have an appointment tomorrow morning at Crichton-Clark."

Maya plopped down next to Noah and he winced. "That guy didn't hurt you, did he?"

Noah shook his head. "No. I'm fine. We were safe and the sex was actually pretty good once I loosened up."

"You were nervous?"

"Nah. I just didn't expect him to be a top. I haven't bottomed for a dude in well over a year. My ex Adriana had a brother who was a cop. I had a lot of fun riding that blue line after the breakup."

"You're such a slut."

Noah laughed. "You love it."

Maya got quiet. She bit her lip and stopped looking at Noah.

"What's wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Shaking her head, Maya sighed. "No. Nothing happened. Well, I did get recognized by some annoying white woman with terrible roots who kept gushing about how I should jump ship to that bargain bin designer Cartullo, but beyond that I've just been here."

"Waiting for me?"

She nodded but didn't continue. Noah grabbed her hand and she looked up at his face. He was smiling.

"I won't do it again."

There wasn't even a need to ask for clarification. Maya understood immediately. "Thank you. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"You still reek, Noah. Go take a shower."

B&B

"This is really, really bad." Thomas looked over the headline again. "Forrester Feud Erupts in Fist Fight at Wedding."

"This is what I was telling you about, Thomas. RJ is running around like a lunatic and everyone else is just as nuts. This was the last thing Forrester Creations needed."

"I wasn't even invited." Thomas bit his bottom lip and looked at Layla. "My dad got married and didn't invite me. He made Steffy his best man! She's not even a man!"

"He doesn't know you're in town. Maybe that's why?" Thomas didn't buy Layla's suggestion and it was obvious she didn't, either.

"Honestly, I don't think I would've gone. My dad was going to marry my ex. Not to mention she used to be my aunt. That's so not normal."

"From what I've seen the last few months I've been at Forrester, it is normal, Thomas. For your family, at least." Layla took the tablet away from him and scrolled further down the article. "You know RJ slept with Bill Spencer, right?"

"How could I miss it? Every headline that isn't about my family throwing down is about my brother making and releasing a sex tape with his uncle. How does this always happen in my family?!"

"No, Thomas, listen to me. RJ slept with Bill, who is married to his aunt."

"Yeah. I know who Katie is."

"And you know Katie used to be the CEO of Forrester Creations when Bill owned the company outright."

"So, if Katie divorces Bill over this..." Thomas started to see where she was going.

"If Katie gets Bill's Forrester stock, and we convince your grandfather to back us, we might be able to wrestle control of Forrester away from Rick without giving it to your dad." Layla smiled and so did Thomas. "There is one problem this doesn't address, though."

"What's that?"

Layla scratched the back of her neck and sighed. "What do we do about Ivy? Rick hired her, but even if we get rid of him, she won't go without a fight. And she's supposedly really tight with RJ lately."

It was Thomas' turn to have an idea. "I think I know someone who can take care of Ivy. Let me handle that. You work on Katie."

B&B

The monitor continued the same monotone beeping pattern. The door closed and nothing changed. After a few moments, alarms started to go off and the woman's body began convulsing.

By the time the nurses and doctors reached the room, Quinn Fuller was sitting upright. She looked into the eyes of the nearest person and spoke only four words: "Where is my son?"

B&B

Nicky chuckled as he read through the flirty and lewd texts on his phone. He especially liked the dick print D had sent. It wasn't like it was something new, but it still made him giddy. D hadn't even cared about how fucked up his face was.

But when the lights went out, Nicky cursed. He tried turning the TV on a got nothing, so it definitely wasn't blown bulbs. However, the lights in the surrounding buildings were still on so it wasn't a city-wide blackout.

"I pay too much fucking money for this loft to have to deal with this bullshit," Nicky grumbled as he sent D a text letting him know the power was out. A couple minutes later, he got a reply saying they could fuck by candlelight. "Do I even own candles?"

Climbing off the sofa, Nicky held his phone up in the darkness and walked to the kitchenette. There had to be something he could use. Noah always talked about keeping an emergency drawer because they had blizzards or something in Wisconsin.

And when he remembered Noah, Nicky stopped and felt his chest. He wasn't RJ but he was still a part of RJ, so a part of him still loved the man. RJ had been so stupid to give Noah up so easily. He fought Victor for Noah, but Eden came back and RJ just folded. But that was RJ: Nicky didn't fold.

"Come on. There has to be something in here." Nicky rifled through each drawer with one hand, in the other hand the blue-ish glow of his phone illuminated the drawer's contents. "Yes!"

It was a matchbook. The stove was electric, so RJ had never seen the point to keeping matches, but Nicky was glad Noah had ignored his alter's apathy. A bit more digging resulted in a small candle that Nicky lit and carried to the coffee table.

Most of the loft was still too dark to see anything, but Nicky didn't care: it was better than nothing.

There was a knock at the door and Nicky's instinct was to push his bangs out of his face before remembering that his hair still wasn't long enough for him to have bangs. He could finally dye it, though. That was something RJ did that Nicky actually wanted to continue. It just needed his own touch.

"It's about time." Nicky didn't care if it was D or his super, he was tired of being alone in the dark. He opened the door and screamed.

"Yes. It is time," Aly agreed as she swung the axe at Nicky, who tripped over his feet trying to back out of the way. He hit the floor and the axe missed him by inches. As he scrambled away from his cousin, Aly kicked the door shut. "Goodbye, RJ."

"We had a deal!" Nicky yelled, knowing that the young woman didn't care.

Laughing, Aly slowly advanced on him and the candlelight glinted off the blade of her axe. "We had no deal. You threatened me. You tried to subjugate me, RJ. But you didn't know that I am royalty."

"I called the hit off!" The attempts at reasoning were weak and Nicky knew it. He had blackmailed her, but he never thought Aly would come after him in his own home. He thought his knowledge of her activities would keep him safe.

Aly growled and swung the axe into an expensive lamp, shattering it. "You have angered me and mine, you inhuman filth! My beloved husband demands your blood, but I want it. Sickening. Disgusting. Perverted!"

Aly's cry was almost as vicious as her attack as she again swung at Nicky, splinters flying up from the impact with the hardwood floor.

RJ would have tried to run from the crazy woman with the medieval weapon. But Nicky wasn't RJ. Even though his body was still aching from his fight with Caroline and Steffy, he climbed into a crouching position and launched himself at Aly.

The axe flew from her grip and slid across the floor, disappearing into the shadows. Nicky got two hits in before Aly's knee collided with his groin. As he bent over in pain, Aly grabbed Nicky's shirt and threw him into the coffee table. It shattered all around him and pieces of glass were embedded in his back but thankfully not his neck.

Aly began stomping every bit of Nicky she could find in the darkness. When the table finally buckled under Nicky's weight, the candle went out. He lay bleeding and beaten and Aly somehow seemed to have the strength of ten men as she picked Nicky up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him across the floor in search of her axe.

"Arnketopah, your mommy needs you," Aly called to the darkness. Nicky knew he was going to die. There was no way around it: it was just a matter of how he would face it. And Nicky Logan was not going to hide.

With a burst of adrenaline, Nicky ripped out of his body one of the larger shards of glass that he could reach, and sank it into Aly's thigh. With a cry of pain, she released him and stared at her leg in what little light spilled in through the window.

"You made me bleed?" Aly snarled and ripped the glass from her leg without flinching.

"You started it," Nicky smirked through his pain as he looked up at her. He didn't know if she could see his face, but he hoped she picked up on the condescension in his voice.

"You gave me the AIDS!" Aly screamed, leaping onto Nicky and sinking the glass into his shoulder. She twisted it until the shard snapped in half. Nicky's cries of pain didn't seem to slow her as she threw the remnant to the side.

She slapped his face until he was lucid again, making sure to use the same bloody hand that had stabbed him.

"It was going to be quick, but you made me impure. Everything your filthy and diseased hands touch becomes ruined." Aly wrapped her hands around Nicky's neck and began squeezing. He was too exhausted and in too much pain to resist. "My husband may reject me and it's all yo-"

Then the axe made its reappearance. It had cleaved Aly's head open and her lifeless body fell on top of Nicky, but the axe stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds more before being dropped.

"RJ?"

It was D's voice. He was too busy sucking in air to answer, but it didn't matter because the man flipped Aly's body to the side and helped him sit up.

"What the hell happened to you? That's Aly, right? Your cousin? Why would she try to kill you?" D was clearly panicking, which Nicky didn't appreciate. If anyone earned the right to panic, it was him. "Oh man. I killed her. But she was killing you. The cops will understand. I need to call the cops."

Even though it hurt, Nicky slung an arm around D's neck and looked into his eyes. He breathed heavily for a few seconds before speaking. "No cops."

"What are you talking about? She tried to murder you, RJ. I killed her! We need to call the cops. And you probably need an ambulance."

"No cops," Nicky repeated. "Find my phone. Call Ivy. She'll know what to do."

With the last of his strength, Nicky gave the man a bloody kiss before passing out.


	10. Chapter 10

"Matthew Buchanan and Destiny Evans?" The doctor looked directly at them and waited for a response.

"That's us, Doc," Maya lied with a giggle. She latched onto Noah's left arm and leaned against him.

"Just Matt is fine," Noah told him as he held a hand out. The doctor didn't shake it.

"Yes, well, I'll stay with Mr. Buchanan. As you can tell by my name tag, I am Dr. Paul Browning. What can I do for you two? I received a fax yesterday from Dr. Liesel Obrecht in Port Charles that she was referring you to Crichton-Clark."

With a nod, Maya slapped a hand to Noah's chest. "Yeah, that's right. We're looking for a long term care facility for his mama. She's this really neurotic, crazy bitch."

"We don't like to use the 'crazy' around here, Miss Evans." Dr. Browning stared at her from over his clipboard. "Our patients are all ill, be it mental or physical."

"Yeah. Right. Okay. So can we get a tour of the place to see if it's up to snuff? I mean, we only want the best for my future monster-in-law." Maya shook her head and played with her earring. "You don't have to show us where you do that electric therapy stuff, though if you decide to go ahead and do it anyway it'll be totally cool. The bitch needs a good shocking. Doesn't she, Matty?"

Rolling his eyes, Noah sighed. Maya had spent the entire car ride to the clinic coaching him on what to do. She was relieved he had learned to follow her lead: his acting was far less wooden than it had been back in Mexico.

"We don't perform ECT here except as a last resort, Miss Evans." Dr. Browning clicked his pen and made a note on his clipboard. "But very well, I'll give you two a very brief and limited tour of the facility. We need to respect the privacy of our other patients."

"Well, duh. Privacy is why we're here. We don't want everyone to know Matty's mama is coo coo for cocoa - ill, I mean. Mentally ill."

"Yes. Very well then. Follow me."

Dr. Browning made sure to keep Noah and Maya close and point out the security cameras in every hallway. He droned on about medical jargon she didn't understand and poor Noah looked even more lost.

They stopped to talk more about security and Maya kicked Noah's shoe. It was her signal for him to speak up.

"Yes, about security: where are the guards, Dr. Browning? We saw the guy by the entrance, but nobody else. I need to know my mom will be safe here."

Maya never heard what the less-than-good doctor's answer was. She quietly slipped away and inched towards the nearest door with a sliding viewing panel. She opened it and had to bite back a gasp.

"Miss Evans, please," Dr. Browning slid the panel shut again. "Privacy is for everyone here, not just your mother-in-law, should you elect to use our services."

Stepping back, Maya tried to control her thudding heart. "Sorry, Doc. Girls are just curious by nature. I'll be good from now on. I just really wanted to see what the rooms look like."

"Oh? Well, let me show you an empty one. This way." As Dr. Browning motioned for them to follow, Maya tried to send Noah a message with her eyes, but he was just lost.

They walked to another hallway and Dr. Browning pulled off his badge and ran it through a card reader. The door slid open and all three stepped inside.

"How do you close it?" Maya asked, noticing there was no card reader on the inside of the room. Noah still looked confused because they were supposed to be doing a dry run, but after what she saw it was impossible. They had to act then and there.

"It doesn't open or close from the inside. You need an employee badge to open any door on the premises, and it only opens from the outside. A swipe of the badge will also close it."

"Thanks for the info, Doc." Maya snatched the badge from the very shocked doctor, then stepped behind Noah. "Get him."

Without time to think Noah leapt at the doctor and began pummeling him while she stuck her head out the door to look for a security guard.

"Come on!" She waved her hand at Noah and he let the doctor drop to the floor and then darted back into the hallway. She slid the badge through the card reader and the door zipped shut before he could recover.

"Why did you have me attack him? That wasn't the plan, Maya. We were going to do a tour, then get another bug from Kevin. That's what we agreed on last night."

"Thad is here," she explained as she began power walking back to the room she had seen before.

"Who?"

She stopped outside the door and looked at Noah. "Thad Pasado. The guy RJ left you for. The one who leaked the sex tape of himself and your ex and then disappeared."

Noah got angry. "Why would he be here?"

"That's what we're going to find out." Maya turned around and slid the badge. The door opened up and Maya quickly realized it was a mistake.

An obese woman in a white lab coat was pouring over notes when the door opened. She looked up and Maya noticed that there was ketchup smeared all over her face and a pickle was wedged between her third and fourth chins. "Are you here to rescue me?"

"Sorry. Wrong room." Maya slid the card again as the woman started waddling over to her rascal. With a shiver, Maya looked to Noah. "Let's do the next one."

The next attempt was more successful. Thad Pasado was huddled in a corner, wearing a straight jacket but apparently lucid.

"Thad?" Maya knelt down next to him while Noah kept his space. It was understandable. "You are Thad Pasado, right?"

"Maya? Is that really you? And you're with him?" Thad leaned forward as best he could and looked up at Noah, who was decidedly not looking at him. "You guys know, then."

"About Courtney? Yeah." Maya waited for Thad's nod: he didn't disappoint. "What do you know about Courtney?"

"The kid's grandfather hired us both to break them up. She went a little nuts."

That didn't make sense to Maya. "Eric would never do that."

"He means Victor," Noah corrected. He sounded pissed off but still refused to look at Thad.

"Victor Newman? He hired you and Courtney? But Courtney was dead!"

Thad groaned and tried to stand. Maya had to help him up. "It was just cash for me. I was supposed to sleep with RJ, get you guys to break up, and leave. Courtney was the long term plan. There was supposed to be a kid."

Then Noah finally did look at Thad. "Why was she pretending to be Eden? Why did you go along with it? You had a job at Forrester! How did you get in here?"

"Courtney died and your grandfather didn't want to run the risk of my flipping on him. I never left LA. I was snatched by his goons and brought wherever here is. It's been... how long has it been?" Thad was acting panicky and Maya felt bad for him despite the deception.

"You've been gone for two months, Thad. Maybe a little longer. It's September." She brushed his bangs from his forehead. "God, you don't deserve this."

"The hell he doesn't. You risked our entire plan for this asshole?" Noah was justifiably angry, but it was the wrong time. "Maya, we know Victor did it. He probably knows where the real Eden is. Let's get out of here and confront the old bastard."

"WAIT!" Thad cried out as he did his best to walk to Noah. "Eden is here. I know which room because I've seen her when they take me to the infirmary for checkups. And she's not the only one."

"What?" Noah looked at Maya and she shrugged her reply. "Who else is here that I would care about?"

"Your boyfriend's sister. The blonde one."

"Hope?" Maya gasped.

Thad nodded. "Yeah. Her. Brooke had a picture of Hope on her desk at L&M. It's how I recognized her, even if I forgot her name. Please. It's been two months. You have to help me get out of here so you can help the others."

Maya looked to Noah and he sighed before nodding in agreement. As she undid Thad's buckles, Maya kept talking. "What are you doing after we get out?"

"I should still have some money. Victor gave me a large down payment when I first came to LA to cover living expenses. I went the cheapest route possible to save the most money."

"And the sex tape? There's no way in hell RJ would voluntarily do one."

"He never knew about it," Thad admitted. "I didn't know about it until you guys brought it up just now. Victor had our places bugged with cameras and microphones. We knew that."

"We?" Noah turned to Thad as the last buckle came undone.

"Yeah. Me and Courtney. He probably edited together footage of me and RJ. He did have a lot to work with."

"He knew." Noah punched the padded wall and did his best not to scream. "The old bastard knew. He probably helped her plan it. How can someone do that to their own grandson?"

"Now isn't the time," Maya reminded him as she helped Thad out of the jacket. "Noah, we need to focus on Hope and Eden."

"Hope is closer," Thad offered as he threw the jacket to the ground and scratched at his hair. "This is way too long. At least they shaved me."

Thad wasn't wearing a shirt, so Maya made Noah give up his jacket, though it barely fit over his biceps and he couldn't get it to close. She totally got why RJ was led astray.

"Follow me." Thad stuck his head out the door. "No security guards. They're gonna see us on the cameras, though. We've gotta be fast."

Maya closed the door behind them. She and Noah followed the man, who became more and more unsure of where they were going as they wound up and down the corridors.

"This one." He stopped in front of a nondescript door that looked like all the others. "I'm 80% sure this is the right one."

Nervous, Maya stepped up to the card reader and swiped Browning's badge. The door slid open and the room was different from Thad's. The walls weren't padded, instead lined with a series of counters and cabinets, and there was a large hospital bed against the wall. As Thad had promised, Hope was in the room and strapped to the bed.

"Maya? She sounded groggy, then tilted her head. "Noah? What?"

They rushed to her bedside, but Thad stepped just inside the room and watched them.

"We're here to get you out," Maya assured her. "What happened to you?"

"RJ..." she started, and Maya's heart fell a bit when Noah stiffened beside her. Pushing through her disappointment, Maya started undoing the restraints on one of Hope's arms. "No. Not RJ. And Ivy."

It took everything Maya had not to look at Noah. She just focused on leaning across the bed to undo Hope's other arm restraint.

"What about them, Hope? My grandfather didn't have you brought here?" Noah brushed Hope's hair out of her face.

"Who? No. Nicky. He hit me. Ivy was there. She - she had to be the one. Nicky can't. He can't!" Hope made little sense and Maya ripped the IV from her arm after undoing the other arm restraint.

"Get her a bandage for that," Maya ordered Noah as she moved on to Hope's legs.

"You don't..." Hope lazily grabbed for and missed Noah's arm. He didn't move. She sounded terrified. "Nicky isn't RJ. But he is."

"What are you saying?" Noah grabbed Hope's hand. "Who is Nicky and what does he have to do with RJ? Do you mean your Uncle Nick? Because last I knew he hasn't been in LA for years."

Hope shook her head. "No. That's Nick. Nicky is RJ. But he's not. RJ has D... I... I-I-I-I-I... D-I..."

"DID?" This time was Thad. Hope looked to him, quizzical, but slowly nodded and pointed at him. "That. Yes. You are familiar. I've seen you."

The last buckle came undone.

"He's nobody," Noah assured Hope while helping her stand on unsteady feet. She was bleeding from where the IV had been. Maya bit her tongue and started looking for a bandage.

"Let me help you." Thad walked up to Maya and there started going through drawers together. She sat Browning's badge on the counter so as to better her search. Then Thad snatched it. "Thank you."

The man threw Maya into Hope and Noah, all three crashing to the floor. He ran out into the hall and by the time Maya recovered, the door was already closing.

"My Eden awaits," he told them just before the door slid shut.

"NO!" Noah screamed, running to the door and slamming his fists against the metal. It was futile and they all knew it, but he continued at it while Maya helped Hope up. "Dammit! I knew we couldn't trust him."

This couldn't be the end. Maya wouldn't let it be. She had started this thing with Noah because she didn't know what else to do with her life after Bill Spencer had outed her. The modeling and the parties, even Rick, they seemed like a lifetime ago.

Leaning a still drowsy Hope on the counter, Maya touched Noah's shoulder. "We're not done."

He was shaking and sweating. Maya brushed the back of her hand against his cheek.

"We're not done," she repeated. She smiled and he did the same. "Noah, say it."

"We're not done," he said with a nod. "Okay. What do we do?"

Then Hope spoke up. She sounded so tired. Whatever drug they'd used on her was strong. "I have an idea."

It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one they had. The worst part of it was the wait. Even though it was only five minutes, it felt like forever.

When the door slid open and the first guard walked in, Maya smashed the metal bedpan over his head and Noah jumped through the door, tackling the second into the wall. Before the first man could recover, Maya was slamming the bedpan into his head until he stopped moving. She quickly checked his pulse, determined he was okay, and then joined Noah in the hall.

He was trading blows with the guard while Dr. Browning watched, so Maya took Browning out first then helped Noah finish off the guard. They were surprised by how well it worked.

"They were armed," Noah pointed out as they dragged the two men into Hope's room. Maya took the badges of both guards and Noah took their guns. "We might need them."

"We won't," Maya assured him, throwing the bedpan at Browning's head and helping Hope out of the room. She slid one of the badges and the door closed. "Noah, do you even know how to shoot a gun?"

"No..."

"Go put them in the trash can," she ordered. He reluctantly complied.

"He said Eden?" Hope was heavy, so Noah took her from Maya.

Maya looked at Noah and he nodded. "She was a friend of RJ's. Eden was also Noah's ex. She's why we're here."

"I thought... Me?" They started walking and Maya slipped one of the badges into the back pocket of Noah's jeans.

"We didn't know about you until we found Thad," Maya explained. "We couldn't leave without you."

"Thad? He's not Thad," Hope claimed, causing Noah to almost drop her.

"What?" His voice was so tightly controlled that Maya knew he was fighting the urge to scream in Hope's face. 

"I've seen him before. The doctors... They don't call him Thad. He's William."

"William? But how?" Noah mused. Maya was nervous because they weren't moving. Then he threw Hope back onto Maya. "Not William. Williams!"

Maya did her best to hold up Hope without falling over. "What are you talking about?"

"God. Now I know why he said 'my Eden' before he left. Everything makes sense now!"

He took off running and Maya had no idea what he was talking about. She did her best to follow, but she was half-dragging Hope.

They caught up with Noah two corridors over, where Thad was holding what Maya assumed to be the real Eden in a choke hold.

"You should've just stayed out of it!" Thad yelled at Noah as he squeezed Eden, whose face was red. "I'm going to take better care of her than you ever could!"

"Ricky, let her go. There's no getting out of this. If you hurt her, I'll kill you. That's a promise."

Maya could tell from the tone in Noah's voice that he was serious. She held Hope and stepped up beside Noah. "Thad, please, we don't have to do this."

Noah protectively held his arm in front of Maya. "His name isn't Thad, Maya. It isn't William, either: Hope heard wrong. His last name is Williams. Ricky Williams, to be specific, and he's insane."

"I told you that Victor hired me, that he gave me money, but that isn't all he did, Noah! He promised me Eden. She's MINE! I earned her, fair and square." The man who used to be Thad nuzzled Eden's cheek as tears ran down her face. "You won't take her from me."

"She doesn't belong to anyone," Noah countered. "I don't know if you know this, but slavery was kinda banned in the US about seventy years ago."

"A hundred and fifty," Maya corrected.

"Whatever!" Noah pointed at Ricky. "Did Victor pay for your surgery? Did he really change Courtney?"

Ricky took a step back, dragging Eden with him. "Of course he did! Look at what he did to us! Why would I lie for him? I did everything he asked and he still had me locked away like I'm some sort of lunatic. I even killed Courtney for him and all I got was thrown into a padded cell."

The adrenaline seemed to leave Noah and his shoulders slumped. "What? No. Courtney died from the fall."

"Your boyfriend was just fine. Why would she succumb to her injuries when he didn't? Your precious Victor had me clean up a loose end. We didn't need to run the risk of her saying something stupid to the police and blowing our cover." Ricky laughed darkly and Maya saw something in Eden's eyes. She'd never met the woman before, but she knew what was coming.

Eden stomped down on Ricky's foot and slammed an elbow into his gut, while Maya dropped Hope and charged at him, knocking him away from Eden. She struggled against Ricky until Noah pulled him off and threw him into a wall. They traded punches until Eden slammed a fire extinguisher into the back of Ricky's head.

"Fuck. You." Her voice was raspy, but she pointed the hose at Ricky's face and doused his unconscious form with white foam.

Leaving Eden and Noah alone, Maya slowly made her way back to where Hope had landed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine." Hope nodded and used the wall to pull herself up. "We need to go."

Maya agreed and looked at Noah and Eden, who were talking animatedly over Ricky's body.

"Who is Courtney?" Eden asked, dropping the fire extinguisher. "Noah, what do I have to do with anything? Your grandfather had me locked up in some cage for months, then had me brought here!"

"I'm so sorry," Noah pleaded. He looked as tortured as he sounded. "This never should've happened."

"Who the hell is Courtney, Noah?" Eden was pissed off.

He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ceiling. "She was my fiancee before she died. Or something. But Victor had her alive and never told me. And she impersonated you. She broke... Never mind that."

Eden cast her eyes away from Noah. "He said something about a boyfriend?"

Noah was still looking at the ceiling and didn't answer her. Maya kept her distance. They needed to leave, but the duo also needed this moment.

"It was RJ, wasn't it?" Eden didn't sound angry, hurt, or anything else Maya could readily recognize. "I haven't seen or heard from anybody since I visited him in LA. I was snatched in an airport in Denver, trying to get to my connecting flight."

"Your family thinks you're dead," Noah told her evasively. "Kevin might... He might know something, but Michael and Lauren and the others are clueless."

"That's not an answer, Noah Newman." Eden pressed a finger to his chest. Maya and Hope just watched and listened. "Were you involved with RJ?"

He chewed on his bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah. For awhile. A few months ago in LA, and a few years before that in Paris."

"Paris? It wasn't-" she started to ask before he cut her off.

"No, Eden. It was after you left to go back to Genoa City. RJ and I got close. We spent nearly a year together. I never cheated on you." He finally looked into her eyes. "I could never cheat on you."

Maya's heart sank into her stomach as Eden reached out to touch his face. He stepped away.

"I'm sorry."

Dropping her hand, Eden faked a smile. "No. It's okay. You still came to save me. If you're happy with RJ, then I'm happy for you."

"But I'm not..." And Noah looked to Maya. Her heart leapt from her stomach to her throat. He walked to her and grabbed her hands. Then he kissed her and she melted into his arms.

"Leave," Hope reminded them. Noah and Maya broke apart and she wiped her lipstick from the edges of his mouth.

"Yeah," Maya nodded. "We are."

Then she cast a glance to Eden, who was not looking at them. And Maya looked to Ricky but he was gone. Only foam remained on the floor where the madman was supposed to be.

"She's right. We need to leave, and now."


	11. Chapter 11

When he woke up, Nicky was in a lot of pain. It took a few seconds to sit up and his back felt like it was on fire the entire time. Slowly, he turned his head one way and then the other. Wherever he was, it was neither a hospital room nor his loft.

"Aly," he whispered to himself as he touched the bandage wrapped around his torso. He remembered what had happened, what she had done. He was lucky to be alive. D had shown up and killed her before she could kill him. "He must have called Ivy."

Nicky fought waves of nausea as he climbed out of the bed. It wasn't until he was on his feet that he felt the crippling hunger that almost drove him to his knees. He was happy to find that, even if he was topless, someone found it fitting to put him in a loose fitting pair of pajama bottoms.

It took two minutes for Nicky drag himself across the room and open the door. He stepped into the hallway and found it empty. The place was huge and he guessed it was Ivy's mansion, but he never made it further in the place than the drawing room before. It was impossible to tell what floor he was on.

"Hello?" Nobody answered his raspy call, so he picked a direction and started limping. He needed food and answers. Mostly, though, he wanted food. His stomach was growling and he smelled of sweat.

Before he reached the first corner, Nicky nearly bumped into someone.

"You're awake," Theresa observed.

"You're a genius," Nicky snarked back.

"Ivy is gonna want to see you." Theresa grabbed his arm and pulled hard, which set his back on fire. She just stared at him as he screamed. "Are you done being a pussy? Come on."

She was impatient with Nicky, but let him move at his own reduced speed. They eventually reached the drawing room, where Ivy was reading something on her tablet and D was looking uncomfortable.

"Bitch woke up!" Theresa announced, walking away from Nicky and sitting down next to D. She put a hand on his thigh and pressed her chest to his side. "So, did you give any thought to my suggestion?"

"RJ!" D rose to his feet and fled Theresa's vicinity. "I'm glad you're okay. It's been a rough couple of days."

"I've been out two days?" Nicky stared at D, confused.

"A day and a half," Ivy corrected, not looking at them. "He's counting the night you arrived."

Touching D's chest, Nicky felt his heart racing. "You don't even know me, and you stayed to make sure I was okay?"

"I wasn't allowed to leave." D looked at Ivy and Nicky followed suit. "She insisted I stay."

"As a guest. Just until you woke up, RJ." Ivy finally looked at her cousin. "You look like shit."

"A crazy woman attacked me with an axe. I almost died."

"And I've taken care of that. Now I need you to do something for me." Ivy looked to Theresa. "Fetch the papers."

"Papers?" Nicky looked to D, who shrugged, then back to Ivy. "What papers? What did you do, Ivy?"

"I've cleaned up mess after mess for you. That is what I've done, RJ. And now, I'm asking for a little compensation."

"Wasn't the job at Forrester enough? You were supposed to take care of my dad and Steffy, but I've had to do everything myself!" His objections were met with Theresa shoving an official-looking document in his face.

Theresa smiled. "You're gonna wanna sign it and fast."

"What am I signing?" Nicky scanned the first page and understood nothing. He knew and a bit of French from when RJ lived in Paris, but he didn't speak lawyer.

"It's just a transfer of property. You'll never notice it's gone." Ivy turned her tablet so that Nicky could see the screen. It was a picture of Aly with an accompanying headline painting her as the latest victim of the Los Angeles axe murderer. "Or do you want to see more accurate headlines?"

"Fine, fine. This isn't for the loft, is it? Because I got a special deal on that thing."

"Not at all. RJ, I would never leave you homeless. You can keep your tiny little apartment. Just give me your signature and all this will be behind us."

With a sigh, Nicky took the pen from Theresa and signed RJ's name. He hoped nobody would notice that the signatures didn't match. "Is that it?"

Before Ivy could answer, her phone rang. She stared at the phone for a few seconds, concerned, then answered it. Her eyes were on Nicky the entire conversation and he felt increasingly uncomfortable with each passing second. He also wanted to sit down and eat, but fear overrode hunger and exhaustion.

"I will never use your shoddy services again," Ivy yelled into the phone before hanging up.

"Am I good to go?" Nicky pointed at himself with one hand, and the exit with the other."

"Yes!" She snarled. "I don't have time for you right now. Something important has come up."

Not waiting for any further permission, Nicky leaned on D and told him to take him home, with instructions to stop somewhere to eat first.

B&B

Katie had been hurt before, but never like this. Bill had slept with Brooke and Taylor outed them at a party. She thought that would be the lowest point in her life until her nephew sashayed down the aisle and showed the whole world that he had sex with her husband.

And he laughed about it. RJ laughed at her.

When she confronted Bill, his defense was lacking. He was drunk and he thought RJ was some random woman. All she wanted was for him to leave their house. So he did, begrudgingly, but Celia had stayed. She promised Katie that her father would get what was coming. Katie wanted nothing more than for that to happen.

It was probably why, when Layla Williamson showed up on her doorstep wanting to talk, she had agreed. Katie had never talked to the woman before: not even an exchange of pleasantries at industry events.

"Do you want something to drink? I can have the maid get you coffee. Or wine, if you prefer," Katie offered.

"No thanks. I drove over." Layla sat on the sofa and Katie returned to her chair. She had spent the last two days crying in it. "Please, before you get angry, hear me out."

"Why would I get mad?"

Layla looked uncomfortable. "Because I want to talk to you about your husband. About Bill."

"If you're here to please his case-" Katie started before Layla interrupted her.

"Not at all, Mrs. Spencer. I have no loyalties to your husband. Or to RJ, as it where."

"What does RJ have to do with your being here? You don't work with him. Not that the brat actually does much in the way of work these days."

"Mrs. Spencer-"

"Katie," she insisted, not wanting to think too much about her marriage. "What do you want?"

"I want your husband's shares of Forrester Creations." Layla paused, likely to see how Katie would react, but the hostess said nothing to her guest. "More specifically, I want you to divorce your husband and take his shares."

"And why would I do that for you? I don't know you."

Layla's discomfort level only grew and it was obvious she wasn't comfortable with the situation. "Because I have an offer for you, and it's not one you'd want to refuse.”

B&B

"Your new weave arrived today, Miss Forrester. Straight from Brazil." The intern sat it on her desk.

"Extensions," Steffy corrected, slamming her laptop shut. "I wear extensions. And they're expensive."

"Sorry, Ma'am."

"Get out."

The intern nodded and hightailed it out of Steffy's office. Rick's standards for employees really were too low. That would change when she took over. She hadn't talked to Bill about getting rid of Rick. He'd been too obsessed with his new daughter to return Steffy's calls, but they needed his shares to pull off their coup.

"Those assholes at customs better not have damaged it," Steffy muttered when she saw that the box had been opened and then resealed. Her extensions were of the highest quality.

Reaching for a pair of scissors, Steffy cut the tape and pulled back the cardboard flaps. Then she screamed.

About a dozen spiders began crawling out of the box and across her desk. Steffy pushed herself away with such force her chair fell to the floor.

Steffy crawled away from her desk and rose to her feet. Someone had ruined her expensive extensions. At first, her mind went straight to RJ. It was definitely something he would do, but he didn't have the access to Forrester Creations mailroom.

“Ivy,” she snarled. The damned wallaby had her office in the basement, sharing floor space with the the shipping and receiving department. Of course it was her. She'd made it her mission to make everyone at Forrester Creations miserable.

Carefully making her way out of her office, Steffy burst into the hallway and yelled at the first employee she saw, ordering the woman to call an exterminator. And as she stormed to the elevator, intent on raining unholy hell on Ivy, Steffy changed her mind.

She couldn't outfight a thug like Ivy, but she could outsmart her. If the bitch wanted to play games, Steffy was more than willing to participate. Ivy just didn't know that Steffy always won. Always.

B&B

"What are you doing with those bags?"

Caroline looked at Ridge. His face was as bruised as her own, but the only thing broken was her heart. "I've given you two days Ridge. I was going to give you the rest of my life. And you've said nothing."

"I apologized for the wedding." He sat his burrito down and walked to her, reaching out for her bags. She stepped away. If she let him touch her, Caroline might lose her nerve. "I've said it over and over: I love you, I still want to marry you. RJ was out of line for what he did with Bill."

"And that's why I'm leaving. RJ wasn't 'out of line', Ridge. He was a monster. He assaulted me on our wedding day!" Caroline was screaming and trying her best not to cry. If she cried, he'd hold her. She couldn't have that. "Your son did this to me and all you care about is that damn tape. You care more about my uncle fucking your son than you do about your son hitting me!"

"That's not true, Caroline. You mean the world to me. I've never loved any woman as much as I love you."

"You're lying." She sniffled, but didn't cry.

"I'm not," Ridge insisted. "I couldn't go on without you. I need you as much as I need air or water or pancake syrup."

She could feel herself falling for his words. Caroline blinked away the tears forming in her eyes and looked around the home she had made with Ridge. She was with him when he bought the fondue pot. They picked out the toaster oven together. She had bought him the convection oven as a birthday gift.

"Prove it," she demanded, knowing he never would.

"I'll do anything. Just name it. Whatever it takes to keep you at my side." He smiled and nodded and Caroline almost stayed.

"Disown RJ." Her voice was a whisper. She could barely hear herself.

"What?" The disbelief on Ridge's face assured her that he had heard the words she said.

"If you want me to be your wife, then you need to put me first. RJ lied and told the world I'm racist. He ruined our wedding and physically attacked me. There's nothing else to say. I'm making you choose, Ridge. Me or him. You can only have one of us."

It hurt her to see the pain and despair on his face. She didn't want to make him choose, but it was the only way she could free herself.

"But he's my son..." Ridge stepped away from Caroline.

She wanted to throw her bags to the floor and run to him. Caroline wanted to throw her arms around Ridge and cry into his shoulder and tell him she loved him. All she wanted to do was stay forever in the home she shared with this man.

Instead, Caroline stood still and waited.

"I'm sorry." It wasn't his first apology of the day, but it was the first one to knock the wind out of her lungs. "Even with everything he's done, he's still my son. I can't just walk away from him."

"I see." And Caroline walked away from Ridge.

She didn't cry until she was in the elevator. She ugly cried and the poor man sharing the lift with her did his best to pretend like she wasn't breaking down.

But Caroline would only let herself cry in that elevator. When she got off, she would have to find some other place to live, and then she would have to figure out how she would ruin RJ's life the same way he ruined hers.

B&B

D let himself into the room and Nicole practically tackled him.

"What took you so long! It's been two days. I thought maybe the axe killer got you. Another person was found dead." She was crying and holding him, so he kicked the door shut kissed her forehead.

"It's okay. I'm okay. I couldn't away until he woke up."

"He? RJ? What the hell happened with him, D? You were just supposed to fuck the guy. If you'd been there overnight, I'd understand, but I didn't get a call or text for two days!" She was still crying, but she was also pissed and fighting the urge to hit him.

He shook his head and she let him go. Walking away, Nicole sat on the motel room bed and looked at D. She had slept alone in the bed for the last two nights and she didn't like it.

"I didn't sleep with RJ, but I think I got his trust. I'm just not sure it's worth it."

Nicole pulled her feet onto the bed but didn't invite him to join her. "That's the whole reason we came here! We need money, D, and he has it. A lot of it. You told me yourself that his apartment looks expensive as hell."

"I killed a woman, Nicole." D looked into her eyes and she just sat there trying to read him. "He was... When I went there the other night, a woman was strangling him. It was dark and the place was trashed. I grabbed the first thing I could and hit her with it. It was dark and I was panicking. How was I supposed to know it was an axe?!"

"It was you?" Nicole didn't gasp. She wasn't afraid. She believed him because he would never lie to her and he would never hurt her. "The woman they said was a victim of the axe murderer, you killed her?"

"I think she was the axe murderer." D finally sat down beside her and she put an arm around his shoulders. He was shaking. "I wanted to call the cops, but RJ told me to call his cousin instead. And he passed out. She fucked him up real bad. It was a slaughter."

"By his cousin, do you mean Ivy Forrester?" When D nodded, a cold chill ran down Nicole's spine. "Shit. We can't handle that. D, she's a terrorist. We need to be extra careful."

"We should just cut our losses," he proposed. "Pack it up and find somewhere else to live. It's not worth it."

Nicole disagreed. "We have one card yet we haven't played."

"What are you talking about?! Nicole, the plan was just getting close to RJ because he's a wreck, finding out something dirty, and blackmailing our way into the good life. Now I'm a murderer and a terrorist covered it up. This isn't a game anymore. There are no cards."

"Listen to me. You are going to see RJ Logan one last time. That's all we need."

"And what? What are we doing, Nicole? Knocking him out and stealing his wallet?"

The smile on her face did nothing to prepare him for what she was about to say. "No, D. You're going to introduce him to your mother."

B&B

Nicky didn't know how much he had needed the shower until he took it. The spray of water had hurt until it didn't. The heat helped to loosen his sore muscles.

He wiped the condensation from the mirror and stared at himself. The cuts and bruises on his face were ghoulish. He looked like a character from one of the underground comics RJ had read in school: the kind he would've been disciplined for if the teachers or his family found them.

With a chuckle, Nicky wrapped the towel around his waist and fingered his hair. It was finally long enough to be dyed, and he wanted to do something with it that RJ would never do. He was going to make it happen.

After he walked out of the bathroom and into the loft proper, Nicky found that he was not alone. He was surprised but amused. The confrontation was inevitable.

"I just got out of the shower, so I'm not exactly prepared for company." Nicky grinned dropped the towel to the floor. "I was going to spend the afternoon redecorating, but I'm up for another go if you're that desperate, Stallion."

Bill Spencer had the look of murder in his eyes. Nicky licked his lips in anticipation.


	12. Chapter 12

Ivy didn't have time. She needed the Hope for the Future diamond, and the woman it was named after had somehow escaped from Crichton-Clark. Even if she didn't know Ivy was behind her incarceration, and she likely knew, Hope had to at least be suspicious.

That was how she found herself slapping Celia Fitzgerald around an empty parking garage.

"I've given you plenty of time!" Ivy backhanded her into an abandoned town car "Where is my diamond, you stupid brat?"

"I looked everywhere in the mansion!" Celia cried, holding her face. "I don't know where my dad is keeping it. Please stop hitting me!"

"Please stop hitting me," Ivy mocked before slapping the girl a second time. "I didn't ask you to look for it. I told you I needed it. The diamond is worth millions. Did you really think he's put it in a coffee can in the freezer? Stupid little girl."

She kicked Celia in the stomach. As the girl bent over in pain, Ivy grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the side of the town car.

"You have one more day. If I don't have the diamond by then, I'm going to make you disappear just like I did your real father."

"What?" Celia's voice was on the edge of a sob and it made Ivy smile.

"You didn't know?" Ivy threw Celia to the concrete floor and chuckled. She was happy Sheila hadn't told her the truth. "Bill Spencer isn't your father. He lied to you. Your mother lied to you."

"You're the one who's lying!" Celia countered while sitting up. It was unbelievable how stupid the girl was. "He sought me out!"

"Because he wanted to use you to lure your mother to town, you simpleton. He wanted to find out what she did to Wyatt, his real child. You were just the bait. But he doesn't know she's in town yet, does he? He doesn't know you've already been in contact with her.

"And you don't know who your real father is. But I do. And I know what happened to him." Ivy laughed, pressing her foot to Celia's chest and pushing her onto her back. "And I also know that Diana Colville isn't your mother's real name. Did you even do a Google search on her? You insipid child."

"What are you talking about?" Celia screamed.

Ivy knelt down and slapped her into silence. "You get me the diamond, and I'll tell you every dirty little secret everyone has been keeping from you. But remember, you have one day."

Standing , Ivy looked down at Celia. She seemed so insignificant, but the girl whimpering at her feet had somehow become the focal point of her mission.

Now she just needed to go take care of Plan B before Hope arrived and ruined everything.

B&B

"Hello, Governor, it's Thomas Forrester. Yes, yes, Stephanie's grandson. My family has been through a lot the few months, as I'm sure you've noticed. I was hoping there was something you might be able to do to help with that.

"See, our family lost its way after my great aunt was arrested. Yes, that's right. Her. She's always been our moral compass. And I'm sure you know all the evidence against her was circumstantial. Besides, shortly after his death, Julian Crane's widow Ivy was terrorizing that city in New York.

"I'm glad you agree it's not just a coincidence, Sir. I firmly believe Ivy set her up to take the fall, but we can't prove it. Still, knowing what we know now, surely you can see why I'm calling.

"Thank you, Governor. And my associate Layla would be more than happy to design an exclusive, one of a kind campaign dress for your wife. And just between us, you've always had my vote."

Thomas hung up his phone and smiled at Pam. "Congratulations, your sentence is being pardoned. New facts to consider and all that."

She smiled back. "Thank you, Thomas! Now, as soon as I'm officially out of here, we're going to discuss how to deal with Miss Ivy's little behind. And don't worry about your grandfather, either. I'll talk to Eric myself."

B&B

"Put some clothes on, you disgusting freak." The look on Bill's face made Nicky laugh.

"Why? I know I'm a little rough looking, but I seem to recall that you like it rough. Or are you just mad because someone else got to me before you could?" Nicky smiled and posed, but Bill's eyes never left his own.

"Get dressed. Now." Bill thinking he could order Nicky around was hilarious, but the young man obliged.

"Prude," he said as he slid on a running outfit he had laid out on the bed. It wasn't so much that he was planning on running as they were the loosest clothes RJ owned. "If you don't wanna fuck again, what do you want, Bill? Because if I ain't getting that dick I have no use for you."

"I want to know what the hell you think you're doing. You got me drunk and took advantage of me. You beat my niece up. Do you really think you're going to get away with any this? That I'd let you walk away unscathed?"

"Bitch, please." Nicky rolled his eyes and dismissively waved at Bill. "Did you not watch the tape? You said my name. You wanted it and you said as much. On film. So don't even play that with me.

"As for Caroline? She gave as good as she got. And the bitch hit me first. She is anything but a victim. And just to answer your last point: you don't scare me."

It was Bill's turn to chuckle. "You always were an idiot, RJ. I just never took you for being suicidal. A smart man would know to be afraid of me."

"Victor Newman said something similar to me once. It didn't work then and it won't work now."

In the blink of an eye, Bill had a hand around Nicky's neck and slammed him into the nearest wall. His back hurt so bad that tears started to form in his eyes.

"I'm not Victor Newman, you little punk. I don't make threats. When I destroy someone, there's never anything left."

Not knowing what else to do, Nicky grinned lewdly and croaked out one word. "Harder."

"What?"

Using his left hand, Nicky began massaging Bill's crotch while twirling the fingers on his right around Bill's sword necklace. "Harder."

Again, Bill slammed Nicky into the wall, but it was a calculated move and the pain didn't hurt as much because it was expected.

"You never touch me again."

"Same to you," Nicky spat as he stabbed Bill's wrist with the sword pendant. Because while Bill had been focused on Nicky's left hand, he had ignored the right one ripping off his necklace.

Howling, Bill released Nicky and grabbed his hand to try to stop the bleeding. Nicky tightened his grip on the necklace and stepped forward, stabbing Bill in the side.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Nicky hissed as he twisted the jewelry. He enjoyed watching Bill bend over in pain.

In a display of pure testosterone, Bill recovered enough to throw Nicky across the loft. The young man hit the floor hard and felt some of his cuts rip open. He watched as Bill twisted his body just enough to pull out the necklace.

"That was not a smart thing to do, RJ," Bill grunted, blood dripping from his fingers to the floor. He bared his teeth and advanced on Nicky, but just before he reached his opponent the door to the loft burst open.

"Bill, you get away from my brother NOW!"

The last person either man expected was Hope Logan. She stormed into the loft and planted herself between them.

"Whatever the hell you two are doing, it's over. Is that clear?" Hope glared at Bill, then turned her head and looked at Nicky for a moment before turning back to the Spencer magnate.

"The little asshole started this Hope. I'm finishing it." He put a blood soaked hand on her shoulder and pushed her to the side.

Nicky forgot about his injuries. Adrenaline overrode his pain and he leapt up at Bill. Caught by surprise, Bill hit the floor, the back of his head slamming into the hard wood.

"YOU DON'T TOUCH HER!" Nicky screamed, digging his nails into the soft flesh of Bill's face. Red lines formed as he pulled downward, blood trailing in some spots.

"GET OFF!" Bill bellowed, throwing a punch that sent Nicky reeling.

Again, Hope tried to intervene, but Bill slapped her away with the back of his hand.

"That's enough!"

All the energy left Nicky's body as Noah joined them in the loft. Even Bill sputtered as he realized what he had just done.

"Bill, if you leave now, we'll let this go. No cops. No Ridge. No Brooke. Just the four of us." Noah crossed his arms and stared Bill down.

It took ten seconds for Bill to look away. "Fine." He snagged his bloody necklace from the floor and limped out of the loft, Holding his side to make sure no blood trailed him out the door.

As soon as Bill was in the hallway, Noah slammed the door shut and locked it. He leaned his head against the door and Nicky heard him sigh.

"Are you okay?" Noah asked. Nicky almost answered, but RJ's ex looked at Hope, who was standing by the big bay window. She was holding her arm.

"I've been worse," she answered quietly. Slowly, she walked away from the window and to Nicky. She held a hand out to him. "What about you? What did we walk in on?"

With a chuckle he didn't feel that also made his ribs hurt, Nicky took her hand. She pulled him to his feet, but he refused her unspoken offer to help him stand.

"Bill was just being Bill," he joked as he dragged himself to the fridge. It even hurt to open it, but Nicky really wanted a beer.

"That's not Bill being Bill," Noah argued, not looking at him. "He looked ready to kill you!"

"He was going to try, anyway. I don't go down without a fight." Nicky punctuated his bragging with the sound of the cap popping off the bottle.

"Is that a beer?" Hope asked while her brother slammed the fridge shut. "What are you doing? You aren't 21 yet!"

"Congrats, you know how to count." Nicky took a swig and used the nearby counter to prop himself up. His everything hurt, but he wouldn't let these two see it. "How the hell are you even here?"

"You mean, why aren't I locked up where you and Ivy put me, right?" Hope corrected, stomping over to Nicky and ripping the beer from his hand.

"I was drinking that!"

"And now you're not." She sat the bottle in the sink. "You aren't going to say anything, are you?"

"There's nothing to say. Ivy clearly isn't as good at getting rid of people as she claims." Nicky looked right at Noah and narrowed his eyes. "I take you found her. Why were you even looking? You left this life months ago. It's none of your business."

"It wasn't just Hope," Noah explained. He still wasn't looking at Nicky, instead opting to look out the window. "We weren't looking for Hope."

Nicky's heart skipped a beat. "We?"

"Me and Maya." Noah finally looked at Nicky, but the young man found it impossible to meet his eyes. He had stared down Aly and laughed as she tried to murder him. Bill had just beat the crap out of him and Nicky already didn't care. But he couldn't meet Noah's gaze. It scared him in a way that the threat of death hadn't.

"You two are..." It was impossible to even finish the sentence.

"Eden is still alive." Nicky noticed the deflection, but it didn't matter.

"What?" He stumbled over to Noah and grabbed his arm. "Eden died! I know because I went out that window with her."

"That wasn't Eden," Hope offered.

"YOU WEREN'T HERE! YOU DON'T KNOW!" Nicky screamed as he finally started crying. He didn't know why he broke. Noah held him as he sobbed.

"That wasn't Eden. It was... It was someone else. Someone hired to impersonate her."

"Eden was at the same facility as me," Hope explained, laying a hand on her brother's trembling shoulder.

As much as he wanted to throw her off and punch Noah, all Nicky could do was cry. He shuddered at their words.

"Ivy?" he managed to croak out. It didn't make sense why she would do that to him. She didn't know Noah. They had never met. And she couldn't get anything out of hiring an Eden lookalike, but he didn't know who else to blame.

"No," Noah said, gently petting the back of Nicky's head. "It wasn't Ivy. At least, not that time."

"It was a coincidence that Eden and I were both there. Ricky, too." Hope left her hand fall from Nicky. "Oh my god. I forgot about that."

"Who is Ricky?" Nicky had stopped crying and stepped away from Noah. He immediately missed being in his arms. "What am I missing?"

"Cou- The woman pretending to be Eden wasn't the only thing." Noah looked at Hope, as if asking her to help.

And jump in she did. "That guy you were seeing? Thad?"

Nicky nodded, not liking where things were leading.

"His real name is Ricky Williams. Victor hired him to seduce you. I'm so sorry."

The anger returned and Nicky welcomed it back: it was what had sustained him all those months. It was what had given him purpose when RJ fled and pushed him to the forefront.

"Victor Newman?" Tears were still falling, but Nicky didn't care. He was pissed. He pushed through the pain and shoved Noah to the floor. "Your grandfather did all of this?!"

"Nicky, stop!" Hope yelled.

Hearing his name, and not RJ's, caught Nicky's attention. With everything that had happened he had forgotten she knew. And judging by the look on Noah's face, she had told him.

"No! Dammit, it's not my fault! You don't get it, Hope. Clearly, both of you already know that I'm not RJ, but I don't want to be here. And no matter what I do, however many scores I try to settle, he won't come back. And I don't know why!"

"When did you surface?” Noah sat and looked up at Nicky. "I thought he was still himself after the fall. It wasn't you, right? When we left things, that had to be RJ."

"Of course it was RJ. You think the fall brought me out? Or you leaving? You think awfully highly of yourself." Nicky focused his anger on Noah. "It wasn't either if those things. It wasn't the sex tape, either. No one thing caused it, dumbass. And if I had an inkling as to what I'm supposed to do to bring RJ back, don't you think I'd be doing it?!"

"And what have you been doing, Nicky?" Hope's arms were crossed and when he looked at her she met his gaze without flinching. "Besides knocking me out and having your new best friend Ivy Forrester lock me up in some clinic on the other side of the country?"

"Whatever the hell I want. Do a Google search, you'll see my greatest hits. In more ways than one." Nicky laughed and looked right at Noah. Whatever lingering feelings RJ had for the man were a moot point. At that moment, he didn't care. "You wanted to know why Bill was here? Why we were trying to kill each other?"

"Stop it, Nicky. We don't have to fight."

Hope's words fell on deaf ears. Nicky was going to break Noah the same way RJ had been broken. Maybe if Noah experienced a fraction of what his other self went through, it would be enough. If not, he was forming a backup plan: it wasn't a good plan, but it was the best he had.

"I had to get a new phone. Katie broke my last one. I saved it to my cloud account, though," he boasted, knowing they had no idea what he was talking about as he walked to his bed. And as he grabbed the phone from the night stand, Nicky pocketed his wallet. "Just give me a second."

"Whatever you're about to do, don't." Noah stepped up to Nicky and grabbed both of his arms. "I know you're not RJ, but you're still a part of him. You have to know he wouldn't like what you're doing."

"I know he liked Thad's dick better than yours. Or should I call it Ricky's cock?" The look on Noah's face made Nicky grin. He'd struck a nerve. "RJ hated the way you dumped him in Paris. He hated that you lied about Eden, or the woman pretending to be her. But he didn't hate sucking that cock.

"And he never forgave you for kissing Eden, Noah. He said the words, and he did try, but he just couldn't move past it. Until he got dicked down by someone else. Someone whose dick was bigger and who knew what he was doing. God, did RJ love riding him. Your dick is trash in comparison."

"STOP!" Noah started shaking Nicky. It just made him laugh even though it hurt like hell.

Hope stepped back in, separating the two men. "Please. Nicky. Just let us help you. We can work together and figure out how to bring RJ back. It doesn't have to be like this."

Biting his bottom lip, Nicky thought of what would hurt Hope the most. It was obvious when he realized it.

Leaning close, he put his mouth next to her ear and whispered: "Our mom is sleeping with Liam."

Gasping, Hope stepped back and looked like a lost child. He turned his attention back to his phone. Nicky pulled the video file up and hit play.

"For you," he said as he handed the phone to Noah. Hope looked at him, crushed, then watched the tiny screen as well.

He didn't wait to see their reactions. Because as they watched his tape with Bill, Nicky did his best to quietly slip away. He unlocked the door and looked at them, but they were both revolted but enraptured by his onscreen antics.

As soon as the door was open, Nicky did the best he could to run for the elevator. Luckily, it opened nearly on command and he slipped inside. Hope and Noah must've caught onto his escape because they came racing into the hallway, but as the elevator doors slid shut in front of them he just waved goodbye.

B&B

Taylor knocked on Ridge's door but got no answer. He knew she was coming over. He'd read her text, even if he hadn't answered it.

It was time for her to come clean about everything: Sheila, Massimo, and Celia. The situation was well past her ability to control.

"Ridge?" The door was unlocked so she let herself in, hobbling about on her crutches. "Caroline? Is either one of you home?"

She wrinkled her nose at the massive mountain of garbage in the middle of the floor. Ridge wasn't always so terrible at keeping house. She remembered when the worst thing he would do was leave his scarves all over the furniture.

Except she realized the trash was moving, but just barely. As fast as her crutches would allow her, Taylor moved around to the other side of the heap and gasped.

"Ridge!" She lost her footing in her surprise, falling the to the floor. Her crutches spiraled away on either side and her head crashed into one of several empty two liter bottles of soda.

Sitting up, Taylor shook her ex-husband but he didn't respond. She started to pull out her phone when she noticed something terrifying about the soda bottles: they were all diet.

"Ridge? No, you know you have a dangerous aspartame allergy. You wouldn't do this," she reasoned with the unconscious man while she dialed 911. "Come on, Ridge. Answer me. Ridge? RIDGE!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Thanks for letting me stay with you. I was shocked I remembered your number."

With a word, Theresa handed the kid a beer and he wrinkled his nose.

"Budweiser? Really?"

"Do you want me to tell everyone where you are?" She gave RJ a dirty look. Even though she was hiding him out, he still thought he was better than her. "Why are you here anyway? Is your sister really that scary?"

"Ivy never told you?" He popped open the can and sniffed at the beer. A look of disgust crossed his face and RJ sat the can on her coffee table. "I kind of attacked Hope and Ivy was supposed to take care of it. That ended up not lasting long."

"Not that I don't have family I'd happily never see again, but what did your sister do to you?"

"That's above your pay grade." RJ cautiously took a sip from the can and immediately spat it out on the floor.

"Hey!"

He opened his wallet and flung a hundred dollar bill at her. "Go buy some real beer. You can keep the change."

"Fuck off." Theresa picked the bill up and stuffed it into her bra. "Your cousin doesn't pay me enough to put up with this."

"And yet, here we are. You agreed to house me until we figure out our next move."

"I hope you've figured that move out." Theresa ripped the beer from his hand and started drinking it. "Because if I have to endure another night of your whining there's gonna be another case of death by axe."

"Actually," RJ leaned forward and smiled, "I think I have. How would you like to turn that hundred dollars into ten grand?"

B&B

"He never came back?" Hope closed the door to the loft and sat beside Noah.

"He didn't." Noah sat the guitar on the floor, but kept his eyes locked on it. He couldn't look at the woman. "I'm assuming your search came up empty, too."

Nodding, Hope sat forward and looked the guitar over. "Is that the one from that night?"

"Yeah." Noah sighed and she rubbed his back, right between his shoulder blades. "All this time, and he kept it. I found it in the closet. He would get rid of sofas and paintings without blinking, but RJ kept a guitar I never played."

"He's not RJ," Hope reminded him.

"Does Brooke know that yet? Or did you not tell her because of Ridge?"

Hope closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. Of course he knew. They'd agreed he should keep her brother's phone and Nicky probably got a text. Hope secretly suspected Noah had spent half the night torturing himself with the video of her brother and Bill Spencer. She didn’t want to tempt herself into watching it.

"How do I tell my mom that RJ is suffering a dissociative break? Her ex-husband, RJ's father, just tried to kill himself. Aly was just murdered. The Forresters aren't my blood, but we were raised together. We're family, and the family can't take another hit right now.

"I'm just hoping Nicky's silence is him hiding out and not a sign of another impending scandal." Hope pulled her feet up onto the sofa, putting them between herself and Noah. She leaned against the armrest. She didn't want to think about her mom. She didn't want to think about what Nicky told her about Brooke and Liam.

"I'm sorry," Noah said quietly.

"It's not your fault," Hope reminded him. "Nicky existed long before you and RJ got involved, Noah. Before you even met. And you heard Nicky himself: he didn't come out because you left."

"You don't know that."

"If it were true, he would've said it. You saw how was at the end. He was trying to hurt us." She ran a hand through her hair and fought the urge to cry. "No, if it's anybody's fault, it's mine. All the shit he was going through, and I stayed away? Steffy came back to town just to ruin him, Noah. You have to know that. One sister is ignoring him while another is destroying him."

"Steffy..." Noah was still looking at the guitar. "She used me to hurt him, you know. I've seen RJ hurt. When I left him in Paris, he was devastated, and I told myself I'd never hurt him like that again."

"But Steffy?" Hope didn't know what else to say.

"After RJ and I broke up, when he was with Tha... When he was with Ricky, Steffy tried to seduce me. RJ walked in on us in that bed over there."

"You slept with Steffy?!" Hope reached over and slapped the back of Noah's head.

"OW! No, I didn't sleep with her. She tried, but I told her no. But it didn't matter because RJ saw what he saw. He had that same look he had the day I left him behind in Paris. Then he went after E... He went after Courtney when she was pretending be Eden. Aaargh! You know what I mean."

"I do."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a handful of minutes.

"I'm leaving tonight. Whether RJ or Nicky or whoever turns up or not. Maya and Eden are waiting for me in Genoa City. I was supposed to fly out this morning, actually."

"Then I'll take his phone. Just in case. It won't do much good if you have it and you're in Wisconsin."

Noah reached into his jeans and pulled the phone out. He held it for her, but didn't hand it to her. She suspected it was because he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"Thanks, Noah."

As Hope stood up and caressed the phone, the man still looked only at the guitar. She would find her brother and get him the help he needed. RJ would get better. But until then, all she could do was look for him and try to cope with everything that had happened while she was away.

She had the door open and was halfway in the hall when Noah finally looked up. He didn't say anything, not at first, but she could feel his eyes on her back. Slowly, she turned around and met his eyes. He had half a smile on his face.

"Are you doing okay? You went through hell, too, Hope. Don't forget to take care of yourself."

"I'm getting there," she promised, returning his half-a-smile.

As she closed the door to the loft behind her, Hope stood in the hallway and stared at the elevator. Her brother had to turn up eventually, but Noah was right: she had her own problems that needed her attention.

"Bill or Ivy?" She wondered, punching the button for the elevator. Before she could decide, RJ's phone vibrated in her hand. Steeling herself, she looked at the screen.

It was a text alert. The photo next to it caught her attention: she recognized the man but couldn't place him. And it didn't offer a name: just the letter "D".

As clever as he thought himself to be, Nicky had never put a lock on the phone. Hope swiped her finger across the screen and opened the text.

It was an invitation to dinner later that evening, a request that they finally get to spend time together without being interrupted by RJ's sister or having to spend time with his cousin.

And Hope knew that the cousin was Ivy. Nicky had become very close with her the last few months and somehow this man knew something about their relationship. She needed to know what he knew.

She accepted his invitation in Nicky's place just as the elevator dinged and the door slid open.

B&B

Caroline sat in the hallway and cried. It was all her fault. If she hadn't left, if she hadn't forced Ridge into choosing, he never would've tried to kill himself.

"You did hear that he's going to be fine, right?" Steffy asked.

Caroline looked up and wiped away her tears. Her ex-future-daughter-in-law had her arms crossed and her lips attempting to purse. She was glaring at Caroline angrily.

"Steffy, your dad tried to kill himself. How is that fine?" Caroline wailed.

The woman slapped her. "You do not get to break down. Not here and not now. He's awake and with my mom, but for some reason he wants you and RJ. And since nobody can get in contact with the evil midget, you're going to stop your blubbering and go into that hospital room and give him a reason to live.

"God, I can't believe RJ would drive our dad to this and not even care. I knew he was a heartless savage, but I had no idea he was this bad."

"What?" Caroline couldn't understand where Steffy was coming from.

"You know I wasn't happy with my dad marrying you, but I stood there at his side anyway. But not RJ. That little asshole interrupted the wedding to let everyone know he slept with Bill, and then he attacked us. The swelling in my lips still hasn't gone down."

Caroline looked, blinked, and looked again but couldn't see a difference in Steffy's lips. She just let it go and Steffy kept ranting.

"Dad is gonna pull through, Caroline. He has to be okay. Because if he's not, I don't know what I'll do."

"Why wait?" Even through her heartbreak, the wheels in Caroline's head were turning.

"What?"

"You're not doing anyone any good just waiting around here," Caroline pointed out. "Your dad tried to kill himself and RJ hasn't bothered with showing up or even calling to check on him. You're right, Steffy. This is all his fault. You should make him pay."

"What are you saying, Caroline?"

Standing up, Caroline fought back the urge to cry. She placed a hand on each of Steffy's shoulders and squeezed. "You heard what I said, Steffy. I'm here for Ridge, but you don't wait. You take action. Go find RJ, Steffy. Find him and bring him to an end once and for all. I’ll take care of Ridge."

Steffy smiled and shrugged off Caroline's touch. "I think I'll do just that. The vile little beast will never see me coming. Thanks Caroline."

Neither woman noticed Thomas around the corner, listening to their every word.

B&B

"It's good to have you back at Forrester, Quinn. There have been so many losses as of late, that a return was long overdue."

Rick's words rung in her ears as she wandered the halls of Forrester Creations. Her brain was in a haze. Why was she awake and at work while her son, her whole reason for living, was in a coma? She had barely survived Taylor running him down in that car.

"Dammit, Theresa! Answer your phone. I want you to find out who those protesters were and where they work. Because I'm going to buy those businesses and fire them, then I'm gonna pay their back taxes and throw them out of their homes. They're going to regret the day they crossed Ivy Forrester."

Quinn remembered Rick visiting her at the hospital. Nobody else had bothered. He wanted to make sure she knew about Ivy being back. The man never inquired after her health or that of her son. Nobody had seemed to even care that they were gone. Bill hadn't even returned her phone calls.

"Hello, Ivy." Quinn knocked on the door and opened it. She bit back a laugh.

"You're back?" Ivy didn't look surprised. Instead, she looked pissed. Quinn couldn't blame her.

"You're covered in red paint," Quinn observed.

Ivy sat down behind her desk and growled. "Animal rights? If animals didn't want to be made into coats and stoles they would have evolved scaled instead of fur. I take it Wyatt is awake, too?"

"My son is... He's still at the hospital." Quinn closed the office door. "Weren't you dead and wanted by the government on terrorism charges?"

"Both of those claims are incorrect. Always were."

"The news said you blew up a hotel."

"We aren't discussing me, Quinn. If you want my story, feel free to hit up Google. Now how did you wake up from your coma and Wyatt didn't?"

"Nobody knows. We had the exact same treatment regimen. He's younger and healthier. The doctors won't say it, but they know he should have woken up first if one of us were to go."

"And they still don't know why you two were in the comas to begin with?"

It set off alarms in Quinn's head. Ivy was asking a lot of the same questions that the police had asked.

"Wyatt's private nurse attacked us. Injected us with something the doctors couldn't find. Why do you care?"

"Have you met Bill's new daughter?" Ivy smiled at Quinn as she used a tissue to wipe some paint from the back of her hand.

That was something Quinn hadn't expected. "Katie had a baby? I didn't think we were out that long."

Still smiling, Ivy shook her head. "No, Quinn, you misunderstand. It's not Bill's daughter with Katie. It's his daughter with Sheila Carter."

"Who?" Quinn was so confused.

"A woman so crazy she makes even you seem mildly autistic." Ivy took off her fur coat and dropped it to the floor in disgust. "Such a waste."

"Why should I care about any of this, Ivy?"

The smile returned as Ivy folded her paint-covered hands on the desk. "That's an easy one, Quinn. Because that nurse you hired? That was Sheila Carter. And she used you and Wyatt to get her daughter into Bill's house. They're going to rob him for millions."

"How do you know all of this?"

"It's quite simple. When I returned to LA, a lot of things had changed. I had the means to hire people to investigate this sudden new child in Bill's life. And now I'm blackmailing her."

Quinn had to sit down. It was a lot of information to digest. "You're blackmailing Bill's daughter with the woman who attacked me?"

"Bill doesn't give a fuck about you or Wyatt, Quinn. He just replaced your son with a new bastard. I'm only telling you this because I think we can help each other."

"How does any of this help me?"

"Because the girl, Celia, she supposed to deliver something to me tonight. And I just know she's gonna have mommy dearest in tow. So you help me get through this tonight, and I'll hand deliver to you the woman who attacked you and your son."

Quinn didn't trust Ivy. She didn't believe a single word that slithered out of her mouth. However, she agreed because she had nothing else to do. There was no other lead on what had happened to her and her son.

B&B

"What is that smell?" Theresa asked as they climbed out of the small, private plane.

Nicky did his best not to gag. The last time RJ had been to the shithole, he had actually offered to take up residence. The piece that was missing, the thing keeping RJ from resurfacing, it had to be there. It had to be. Not even seeing Noah had brought him back.

"That, my dear Theresa, is the pathetic stench of desperation. You might as well get used to it. It's everywhere in Genoa City."


	14. Chapter 14

"We're closed," he called from his station by the cash register.

Theresa ignored the man and continued into the bar. She had seen some rundown places in her time, but The Underground was probably the worst. A rat sat on one end of the bar, nibbling on what she guessed to be a leftover hushpuppy.

"Not for me, it's not. Give me your most expensive tequila. The whole bottle." She smiled at the guy and sat her package on the non-rodent infested end of the bar. She reached into her bra and produced the wad of cash RJ had given her on the plane. It wasn't part of her payment. He had called it discretionary funds and she had no clue what that meant.

"I'm not playing with you. Get out of my club before I call the cops."

"This is a club?" Theresa threw about three hundred dollars in assorted bills on the floor and let herself behind the bar. She grabbed the fanciest bottle and cracked it open. "This is not a club. It's a dive."

"Who do you think you are?"

Again, Theresa smiled as she cracked the seal on the bottle. She threw the lid on the floor and sauntered to the man, who had yet to make a move for the phone.

"You're worth half a billion dollars, right? What the hell is Nicholas Newman doing counting the pennies in a cash register? Or do you prefer to be called Nick?" Theresa slammed the bottle on the counter and leaned up against him.

He slammed the drawer shut.

"You have ten seconds to convince me not to-" Nick never got to finish his threat because Theresa grabbed his hair and pulled his face to hers.

Even though he had a mild case of body odor, Theresa kissed him. It wasn't like Brady had smelled any better back in Salem.

"I brought cupcakes," she told the millionaire after releasing him. Backing away, Theresa used the side of her index finger to wipe his saliva from her lips.

"Who are you?" Nick looked stunned and she answered with a flirty giggle.

"Do you like red velvet?" She punched the rat off the bar for getting too close to the box, then lifted the lid. Looking over her shoulder, Theresa watched Nick's expression. "Would you rather have orange? I got all kinds of goodies for us."

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Nick walked up to Theresa and she picked up the rainbow cupcake. It made her snort.

"Not that I'm aware of. This is my first time in Genoa City. I just thought I'd see the sights." She ran her eyes over his frame approvingly. He was a little caveman-ish, but nowhere near as bad as Daniel Jonas had been. "What do you have to show me?"

"You tell me what you wanna see." Nick smiled at her and took the cupcake. When RJ had told her it would be an easy gig, she had no idea how right he was.

Stepping up to Nick, Theresa pressed a hand to his stomach. She could feel the muscles under the cloth. With her other hand, she grabbed Nick's wrist and forced the cupcake to his mouth. "Eat."

He complied, take a bite of the frosting but not the cupcake itself. There was a bit of it at the corner of his mouth and she stood on the tips of her toes to lick it off.

"Fuck this." Nick dropped the cupcake to the already filthy floor and grabbed Theresa. As he kissed her, she pushed him away and he hit the rack of alcohol. A couple bottles crashed, smashing open open on the floor. "What the hell?"

"I lead," she told him with a laugh, stepping over the broken glass and reaching for his belt buckle.

B&B

"You found me?" Bill stepped back and let Katie into his hotel room. "I mean, I wasn't hiding from you, but I didn't think you'd know-"

"I'm not here for small talk, Bill." She sat her purse on the nearest end table and looked at her husband. She indicated with her eyes that he needed to shut the door, and even though he hated taking orders he obeyed.

"Are we working things out?" He crossed his hands over his chest and she stared at him.

"What happened to your hand?"

"RJ," he answered without thinking, unconsciously stretching his bandage. His side still hurt as well but he didn't want her knowing about that.

Katie narrowed her eyes and snarled. "Must've been some lover's quarrel."

"Oh, go to hell."

Shaking her head, Katie growled as she opened her purse. "Actually, Bill, that's why I'm here. I don't want to fight with you through another drawn out divorce. I took the liberty of having some papers drawn up."

He did his best not to let his hurt show. "Divorce?"

"You slept with my nephew, Bill. Drunk or not, you cheated on me. I can't be married to you anymore."

She pulled a stack of legal documents out of her purse and handed them to him. He stared at her for a few seconds before taking them.

As Bill looked through them, Katie continued to talk. "They are more than fair. I relinquish any claim to Spencer stock, and I could make a very good legal case for half your stock. We share joint custody of Will: I get him during the week and you get him on weekends, except it's the reverse in the months of June, July, and August. That's for when he goes to school. You get to keep the mansion. I already have Adele compiling a list of properties for me to look at."

"And for all of this, you want my 12.5% of Forrester." Bill finally looked up at his wife and saw a twinkle in her eyes. "You're planning something. You haven't cared about Forrester in years."

"And you're curious to find out what. If you really wanna know, Bill, all you have to do is sign."

"And why should I do that?"

Katie smiled through her anger and disgust. "Because you cheated on me, Bill. With a man. And we both know that the courts are more conservative than they let on. I can either drag you to court and get everything I want including that Forrester stock, or you can sign those papers right now and we both walk away as close to happy as we can get."

Even though he wanted nothing more than to go to court and prove her wrong, Bill knew she wasn't. He was a man of action but he was also pragmatic.

He signed the papers.

"Thank you." Katie took the documents from Bill and sighed. "I'm sorry it came to this. I'll drop them off at my lawyer's first thing in the morning. Goodbye, Bill."

"Goodbye, Katie." He reached out to touch her face and she stepped away.

Without any further words, Katie gathered her things and walked to the hotel room door. When she opened it, Steffy Forrester was on the other with a hand raised as if preparing to knock.

Katie just stared at Steffy for a few seconds, then pushed her way past the woman.

"What did I miss?" Steffy asked, walking into the room and closing the door.

"The end of my marriage," Bill sighed.

"It wasn't that great anyway," Steffy offered. She crossed her arms and cocked her head st Bill. "Just looking at you disgusts me."

"Thanks for that."

"I find what you and my brother did to be completely repulsive Bill, but I have more important things to worry about than what diseased hole you're fucking this week."

"Such as?"

"Such as destroying my brother, Bill. Criminally, you don't have a case, not really. But you're going to sue the shit out of RJ."

"What are you talking about?"

"Rape, Bill." Steffy smirked and threw her mass of hair over her shoulder. "You're going to take my brother to court. You're gonna sue RJ for raping you."

B&B

"You got what you need?" Theresa asked as she finished getting dressed.

"You weren't actually supposed to sleep with him." Nicky looked at the cupcakes, which had been scattered all over the floor. "I paid a lot of money for those things. It's shockingly easy to find a baker in this cultural wasteland that is willing to slip GHB into cake batter."

"Listen, he's asleep and that's what matters. So I got off in the process. I haven't had sex since I moved to LA and it was driving me nuts. A woman has needs."

"He's not wearing a condom." Nicky observed. "Didn't I tell you to be careful?"

"He was. It must've slipped off." Theresa shrugged nonchalantly. "My monthly STD test is scheduled for next week. I'll just have to be extra careful until then."

"The funds have been transferred to your account, Theresa. You can go now." Nicky watched her grab her high heels, but she left the pantyhose in a heap on the floor.

She looked him over. "You sure you don't want me here for the next part?"

He was healing and on enough over-the-counter painkillers that he hardly felt anything, so he didn't get her concern. "It's probably better if it's just me. Don't wanna have to use my ace in the hole if I don't have to."

"Fine, RJ. But that burner phone does have my number. Don't be afraid to call me."

Nicky smiled at her and let Theresa put a hand on his shoulder. She used him to steady herself while she put on her heels.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

They exchanged no more words. As she left the bar, Nicky felt a part of him get sad. He didn't understand it so he pushed it away.

"Okay then, Mr. Newman, I've seen more than enough of you. Shame about the heterosexuality thing. We could've had fun," Nicky told the sleeping man as he knelt down next to him. He put one hand on Nick's shoulder and began to shake him. "Hey, are you okay?"

With a groan, the father of RJ's ex-boyfriend came to his senses and sat up. His back was covered in icing and bits of cake. It looked like it was red velvet.

"Oh god. I did it again, didn't I? Listen, kid, how much do you want to keep this between us?"

"What?" That was the last thing Nicky had been expecting him to say.

"Listen, you look like shit and I'm sorry if I got too rough, but you've gotta realize that when you come onto a straight guy-"

Nicky interrupted the man's explanation by laughing into his face until his ribs hurt. He grabbed them and about fell into Nick's lap from the combination of pain and hilarity.

"Are you okay?" Nick climbed into a crouching position and put a hand on Nicky's back. "Kid?"

"You didn't do this," Nicky said as he wiped tears from his eyes. He was blowing a potentially good means of blackmail, but he already had a better one. It was best if he tried doing the honest plan first. Well, as honest as he could get. "We've never met before this. Besides, what makes you think I'm gay?"

"Really?" Nick just stared at Nicky. There was about five seconds of eye contact before Nick stood up and started fetching his clothes. "How did you even get in here?"

"A woman came outta here not long ago, so I thought you were still open. It seems I was, uh, wrong. But when you were there on the floor I had to make sure you were okay, Mr. Newman."

"Well, we're not open. And the woman. Yeah. I remember her now." Nick slid on his boxers and started to pull on his pants. He stopped, squeezed them, and then looked around the bar. "The bitch stole my wallet!"

It took everything Nicky had not to laugh. Theresa would do that.

"Um, Kid, I'm fine. So why are you still here?"

Nicky bit his bottom lip and shifted his eyes to the ceiling. He had to play it perfectly. One mistake and he'd have no choice but to pull out his phone and that was his last resort.

"You really don't know who I am?"

Nick choked a little and Nicky looked down at him in surprise.

"Listen, Kid, I don't know what your mom may have told you, but I'm not your dad. Probably. We'll get a DNA test to be on the safe si-"

"Oh god NO!" Nicky again fought the urge to laugh. "I'm RJ Logan."

"R... RJ. Oh." Nick picked up his shirt with one hand and offered the other to Nicky. "You're him."

"If by him, you mean Noah's ex, yeah. That's me." Nicky took Nick's hand and the other man pulled him to his feet. "This wasn't how I wanted to meet you, but you never bothered to even try when I was still with your son."

The mood was more tense than Nicky had intended and he mentally kicked himself. Antagonizing Nick was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Sorry. That was uncalled for," Nicky offered as he released Nick's hand.

"I'm not a homophobe," Nick assured Nicky. "I mean, I've had gay friends. Not close ones, but they exist."

"Really, it's fine. I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, Mr. Newman." Nicky took a deep breath. This was proving to not at all be like he had planned. "I came to apologize."

To me? What for?" Nick finally put his shirt on and Nicky was disappointed. He had liked the eye candy. "Like you said, we never met."

"Not to you. To your father. I need to see Victor. I'm sure you heard about what happened the last time I was here."

"I did. I also heard about what happened at your dad's wedding."

"You did? Shit." Nicky suddenly knew that Nick wasn't going to believe anything he said.

Laying a hand on Nicky's shoulder, Nick tried to play the role of the elder offering advice. "Listen, there's no way you're apologizing to Victor. I don't know you, but right now my dad is the last of your concerns unless you're plotting something."

"Why would I be plotting anything?" Nicky stepped away from Nick and slid a hand into his back pocket, wrapping his fingers around his phone.

"I'm not an idiot, RJ. It's obvious that you and my dad hate each other. But you and Noah broke up months ago. Why come here now? Why me?"

"Because I didn't know then what I know now." Nicky dropped all pretense and pulled out his phone. He was going to have to us it after all. "I need to see Victor. And there's no way I'm gonna be able to go to Newman Enterprises, so you're gonna take me to the old bastard's ranch. Noah used to tell me all about it. I'll never get past security on my own."

"But why? You didn't tell me that, RJ. Why should I help you? You're nothing to me, no offense."

With a defeated sigh, Nicky woke his phone and pulled the picture up. "Because if you don't help me, I'm gonna let everyone see what Nick Jr. looks like. Though, from what I've heard, about a third of the country already knows knows."

"Excuse me?" Nick took the phone from Nicky and stared at the picture. "You took a naked picture of me?"

"Pictures. Multiple," Nicky corrected.

With an angry grunt, Nick smashed the phone into the bar, shattering the screen. "You tried to blackmail me? Really? Good luck doing it with this piece of junk."

"No trying. I am blackmailing you. Did you think I wouldn't back those pictures up to the cloud? I knew you were a whore, but I didn't know you were a dumb one."

Nick dropped the phone to the floor and stared at Nicky. His shoulders heaved as he breathed, barely keeping his violence reigned in.

"You gonna attack me? You gonna kill me to keep your nudes outta the press?" Nicky crossed his arms and chuckled. "Go for it, Tough Guy. You wouldn't be the first to try. But that woman you fucked on this filthy bar floor? She works for me. If I die, she has orders to leak those pictures anyway. So either you do this one thing for me or everyone gets to see your package and be as impressed as I was."

"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" Nick clenched his fists and Nicky smiled. "You think you've thought of everything, you disgusting freak."

"Not everything. Just enough. What do you say, Nicholas? Do we have a deal?"

Even though he had been expecting it, Nicky still fell to the floor when Nick punched him. He touched his nose and, while it wasn't broken, it was bleeding. He laughed.

"Let's get this over with," Nick grunted as he stormed out of the bar. Scrambling to his feet, Nicky followed.

B&B

Maya was waiting for Noah when he got off the plane. Eden was at her side, looking exhausted and pissed off.

"You find him?" Eden asked Noah, looking every bit as uncomfortable as he felt. They never really had time to adjust to each other after Crichton-Clark. He took Hope to LA and Maya brought her home to Genoa City.

"Yes. And we lost him. But Hope was right. RJ isn't himself. He has an alter now. A real nasty guy named Nicky in charge."

"Nicky?" Maya blinked. "I know that name."

"So do I. He named himself after your dad, Noah," Eden pointed out. “God, everything about everything is so weird.”

"Actually, Hope and RJ have an Uncle Nicky. Nick Marone. She thinks that's where the name came from," Noah explained. He understood as much about the situation as Eden.

Maya hugged him and kissed Noah's cheek. He wanted nothing more than to return the kiss, but he didn't want to do it in front of Eden. "You said you guys lost him?"

"Not our problem anymore. Hope's gonna let the family know eventually. After everything with Ridge settles down."

"What's going on with ole lard ass? I heard about the wedding. Laughed through the entire video."

Noah had forgotten how much Maya hated Ridge and Caroline. He wondered if he should tell her the truth.

"Look," Eden interrupted, looking as pissed off as she was tired. "Can we talk about this later. There's an old bastard out there waiting on us, even if he doesn't know it. And we're doing this tonight. I refuse to wait another damn day, Noah Newman."

B&B

The lights were still on when Victor arrived home from the office. Nikki had told him she was spending the night with Victoria and the grandchildren, so he assumed the staff had left them on when they left for the night.

Hanging his jacket up, Victor walked into the living room and gasped.

Sitting on the sofa, head on his chest and surrounded by pieces of broken pottery, was his first born son. Before Victor could check on Nick, someone else in the room cleared their throat.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Victor saw the intruder. He would've laughed if he wasn't so angry.

"HOW DARE Y-" he started before being interrupted.

"Get a new line, Old Bitch." RJ Logan walked out of the corner and over to Nick. He put a hand on the top of the man's head and pulled it upright. He looked down at Nick, released him, and smiled at Victor. "He's alive, just taking a little nap. Nicholas here didn't seem to understand that this is supposed to be a private conversation. And oh, you and me, we are definitely gonna have some words."


	15. Chapter 15

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Nicky smirked at Victor and scratched at a scab on his arm.

"You are trespassing on my property. The wise thing would be to leave before I call the police."

With a dismissive laugh, Nicky picked up a vase from an end table. "Call them. I'm sure they would love to hear everything. Like how you hired an Eden lookalike to try to kill me."

"That claim is absurd, you detestable creature. What makes you think you have the right to come into my home and hurl baseless accusations at me?"

Nicky dropped the vase to the floor and stared at Victor's face. The old bastard didn't even flinch as it shattered. "I hope that was expensive."

"You want to add destruction of property to assault and trespassing charges? Be my guest." Victor showed no signs of being bothered. That was fine. Nicky remembered from RJ's past confrontations that Victor liked to play mind games.

That was also fine, because Nicky wasn't playing.

"There's no way out of this one. You see, I know you're a decrepit old cunt, so your brain may not work properly anymore, but your ass is toast. I just wanted to be here and say my peace before it happened."

"There is no proof of anything. Your claims are as outrageous as your appearance."

"Your ass is going down. You had Eden kidnapped and held for months while a crazy woman impersonated her. You hired a man to pretend to be someone else and seduce me. You grew that ugly ass moustache and thought it looked good.

"And you probably already know that Noah told me all of this. You have your spy cameras and your men on the street. But even with all of those resources, you didn't see me coming. Did you?"

"You are insane."

"You have no idea how right you are. Because, you see, I'm not the RJ that you dealt with before. And I'm certain you didn't know that."

"Nonsense. You are the same faggot you've always been."

Laughing, Nicky grabbed a lamp and threw it at Victor. The old man held his arms up, but the lamp missed and shattered against the wall.

"I may be a faggot, but the frightened little bitch here is you. You know everything is unraveling. People are going to find out what you did. And as forgiving as your grandson may be, even Noah has his limits."

"You speak from personal experience." Victor crossed his arms and walked to Nicky. He looked down into the young man's eyes and laughed. "Whatever comes of this, my grandson is not with you and that is all that matters."

Still smirking, Nicky flexed his fingers. "An old bigot like you just doesn't get it. Noah and I being together or apart means nothing anymore. He'll always like sucking dick. And I know THAT from personal experience."

Nicky looked over at the unconscious man sitting on the sofa. "You know what? I am a Logan, but I've never fucked a father and a son. Maybe I should fix that. What do you think? Nick over there is a slut, after all, but is he slutty enough to let me hop on that dick?"

Victor punched Nicky and he hit the floor. Touching his upper lip, Nicky found that it had split open. As he licked the blood from his fingertips, Nicky smiled and looked up at Victor.

"You will stay away from my son!" The old man bellowed.

Rising back into a standing position, Nicky stepped back and shook his head. "You don't like the idea? You don't want me with Noah. You don't want me with Nick. Why is that? Do you want me for yourself? Is the big, manly Victor Newman really a closeted old queen?"

Again, Victor struck at Nicky, but this time he dodged and grabbed the old man's arm.

"I don't fuck people whose dicks resemble corn husks," Nicky boasted.

He prepared to strike back at Victor when the front door to the ranch burst open.

Both Victor and Nicky looked to the entrance. Noah, Maya, and Eden stormed into the living room.

"This should be good." Nicky laughed before Victor threw him into the wall.

B&B

"I still can't believe that you're in LA!" Amber threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. "I missed my Little D."

"It's just 'D' now," he told her. The man nervously patted her on the back.

"We'll see about that. How long have you been in town?" She sat down and stared at her son. She really did miss him. She put so much work into keeping him away from his father that she never got to see much of Little D herself.

"Not long." He smiled at her and sat down as well, drumming his fingers on the table.

They were interrupted by the waitress, who took their drink orders and then walked away.

"Your text message said you had a surprise for me." She steepled her fingers and laughed. "Where is it?"

"They'll be here soon." He smiled and the room seemed to darken.

"It's not your dad, is it?" Amber scratched at her knuckle and one of her nails popped off. She silently cursed the glue company. “D, we talked about this. Deacon is a dangerous man."

"It's not my sperm donor," he promised. "I'm sort of seeing someone. It's getting serious. Sorta."

"You're introducing me to your girlfriend?" Amber gasped and snatched nail from the table.

"Actually, that's probably them now." D pulled his phone out of his pocket and swiped his finger across the screen. He looked into Amber's eyes and grinned, showing off his teeth. "Yep. Just showed up. The concierge is bringing them now."

Amber couldn't get the nail to go back on, so she began to rip all of the others off. She dropped them in her purse and used a napkin to buff away the dried glue.

"Amber? You know this guy?"

Looking up at the sound of her name, Amber screamed.

"You're dating D?!" She yelled and pointed at Hope. "Please tell me you two haven't slept together."

"What?" Hope looked so confused.

For his part, D had grown unnaturally pale. "No, Amber, that's not it at all. I swear this isn't them."

Rounding on her son, Amber heard the echoes of gender neutral pronouns coming from his lips. "Are you telling me you're not seeing Hope? Is that what this is?"

"Amber, what is going on? How do you know this guy?" Hope pulled a phone out of her purse and threw it on the table. "Did you hook him up with RJ?"

Even though everyone in the restaurant was already staring, Amber screamed again. "YOU'RE GAY AND DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME THAT?! AND YOU'RE DATING YOUR SISTER'S BROTHER!"

It was Hope's turn to scream. "WHAT?! Who the hell is this guy, Amber?"

Calming herself down, Amber looked at her son who was staring at the phone Hope had brought. "This is D. He's your brother, Hope. On your dad's side."

Hope stared at D, who was actively looking at neither of them. "My brother is fucking my brother?"

She fainted.

B&B

Ivy watched as Celia approached, cell phone glued to her ear. It was perfect.

"You brought it? Show it to me." The words crawled out of Ivy's mouth and slithered through the airwaves. She smiled as Celia flinched.

"Here it is." Celia opened the cloth bag in her right hand and Ivy saw the stone. It looked flawless. "Now tell me about my dad. My real one."

"Massimo Marone." Ivy looked around the empty park but didn't see Sheila anywhere. It was only a matter of time until the bitch showed up. If only Theresa had answered her phone, she would've been able to improvise something better.

She hoped her deception would work.

"What?" Celia whispered into the phone. She slid the diamond back into its case and stared at the the other woman. "Marone? I'm a Marone?"

"Yes. Just like Ridge Forrester and his children. They're Marones as well. Ridge is your brother and he has no idea who you are. He never will."

Ivy could see Celia's hands shaking and the girl unconsciously shifted her eyes to the bushes on her right. Sheila was hiding in the shrubbery? Ridiculous.

"Your father is dead, Celia. Massimo Marone is nothing more than a corpse at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean." Ivy smiled and breathed every word into her phone as if she were on the verge of an orgasm. "And unless you want to join him, give me the rock and get out of here."

"F-fine. Just tell me, did you kill him?"

A soft chuckle pried itself Ivy's lips. "No, my dear. Your mother did that. I just disposed of the evidence. There are a lot of things she hasn't told you. Now give me the stone. She can answer the rest of your questions.”

And as Celia approached, Ivy watched the bushes. She almost missed it because the attack came from behind, not the side. It didn't matter because it was too late.

Sheila struck with a large rock and the woman crumpled before any defense could be readied. A cell phone fell into the grass.

"That'll teach you to threaten my..." Sheila started before Celia screamed.

Emerging from her hiding place, Ivy kept the barrel of her gun locked on Sheila.

"But how?" Sheila was stunned and Celia silent.

Ivy shot the madwoman in the stomach, and followed up by answering her question. "Is it really that hard to tell dark haired white women apart?"

She kicked Quinn's prone form and the woman didn't react. Ivy directed Celia a safe distance away. Bending down, she felt Quinn's wrist and found that while the skin was warm there was no pulse. It was just as well. She's planned on getting rid of the bitch anyway.

The memory of being pushed off a bridge was not a fond one.

"Give me the rock." Ivy followed up her order by pointing the gun at Celia's face.

"But-" The protest was interrupted by another gunshot. Ivy was thankful for her silencer: she didn't need the sound of gunfire attracting unwanted attention.

As Celia's dead body fell to the ground, Ivy squeezed her left hand and then shook it. The gloves were uncomfortable but necessary. She knelt next to the girl's body and took the bag from her dead grip.

Something felt off. Ivy looked around the park but saw nobody. Nervous, she opened the bag and pulled out the diamond. She held it up in the meagre moonlight: the cut and colour were perfect.

The weight was off.

Dropping the stone, Ivy watched it hit the ground. It wasn't right. She picked it back up, rose to her full height, and threw the diamond to the ground where it hit a rock and a chip flew off into the darkness.

"No!" Ivy uttered. She pointed the gun at the diamond and pulled the trigger. It shattered into innumerable pieces.

She kept muttering herself as she walked away from the fake diamond and the dead women.

"Call the cleanup crew. Fucking fake. I should've known. Dammit."

Ivy turned around one final time and fought the urge to scream: Celia and Quinn's corpses were still there, but somehow Sheila has disappeared. The woman was still alive.

It didn't matter. Ivy's time was up. Sheila was unimportant. Ivy had failed. She was fucked.

B&B

"What are you doing here?" Noah looked at his ex-boyfriend and Maya wanted very much to disappear into the background.

"Whatever the fuck I want." RJ replied. Except it wasn't RJ. Maya had to remind herself that this was an alter. DID, Hope had said.

The young man grabbed a chair and launched it through the nearest window. Maya flinched.

"Get this thing out of my home, Noah!" An old man yelled. Maya guessed this to be Victor, the one who had locked up Eden. He radiated an air of patriarchal power, not unlike Eric Forrester. Except Eric was soft and kind, whereas this man felt hard and cruel.

"Nicky, it's Nicky, right?" Noah asked as he held a hand out to the other man. "Why are you here? What is this accomplishing?"

"It's making me feel better." Nicky flipped over a table full of decorations and family photos. "You know what this old dried up cunt did, Noah. I almost died. HE almost died!"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" The old man yelled as he pointed as Nicky. "You are destroying my home. I will NOT have it."

Smirking, Nicky ripped the curtains down from the window he had just broken. "Stop me, Old Bitch."

The man started to stomp to Nicky but Noah put himself between them.

"Look, Victor, I'll get him to leave, but then you and me need to have a talk. Is that clear?" Noah looked into his grandfather's eyes and Maya remembered looking at her own father in the exact same way.

"I'm not going anywhere," Nicky insisted. "He tried to have me killed. Do you think I'm going to let him get away with that?"

"Nicky, STOP!" Noah shouted, grabbing the shorter man's arms. "Let me take care of this."

Hell broke loose as Nicky jerked out of Noah's grip and punched him in the face. "You don't get to touch me!"

Again, Nicky struck Noah and Maya watched as her... Was he her boyfriend? Noah stumbled and hit the sofa, and that was when everyone realized there was someone else in the room.

"Dad?" Noah looked at his father, who didn't react. "DAD?!"

"This abomination attacked him!" Victor claimed, sizing Nicky up.

Noah shook his dad's shoulder.

"He's just taking a nap. The artwork in this place would put anyone to sleep." Nicky's accompanying laugh made Maya uncomfortable.

"Come on." Noah walked around the sofa and knelt in front of his father. All Maya could do was watch. "Dad, Mom hired a new nanny for Faith. She's really hot."

As Noah's dad began to stir, there was another crashing sound. Instinctively, Maya looked looked to Nicky, but he was looking elsewhere with his mouth hanging open. Following the kid's line of sight, Maya saw Eden with a clenched fist and Victor with a bloody lip. He was leaning on a table, with a broken lamp at his feet.

"Someone needed to deck the old bastard," Eden told the room. She never took her eyes off of Victor and threw another punch, but he caught this one. What Victor didn't do was anticipate Nicky tackling him to the floor.

"Wha?" Nick said as Noah abandoned him to pull Nicky off of his grandfather.

"Fuck you!" Nicky yelled as he kicked at Victor, Noah pulling him away. Eden stomped on Victor's wrist anyway. Maya secretly hoped one of them had broken something.

"Both of you stop this, or I'm throwing you out of this house myself. Don't you know how old he is?" Noah refused to let Nicky go. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Eden spat on Victor and stormed away. She swept the broken pottery off the sofa and into the floor before sitting next to Nick.

"Did I miss something?" Nick touched the top of his head and winced, then looked at Eden. "Aren't you dead? Noah, your dead ex-girlfriend is here."

"I'm a little busy." Grunting, Noah threw Nicky into a nearby chair. "Stay there or I'm sitting on you."

"Like hell you wi-" Before Nicky could finish his sentence, Noah sat on him and grabbed his wrists, pinning him to the chair. Noah smiled at Maya and she gave him half of one in return.

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" Nick yelled before cringing and cradling his own head.

"These fools and that faggot are going to jail." Victor rose, nursing the wrist Eden had crushed. He looked apoplectic.

"Nobody is going anywhere or doing anything unless I say so!" Noah told his grandfather. He then looked to his father. "Are you okay, Dad?"

"I've been better. Didn't expect your friend there to attack me right after blackmailing me."

"You know what? I don't even wanna know right now." Noah climbed off of Nicky and pointed a finger in Nicky's face. "STAY!"

Nicky leaned forward and bit Noah's finger. Maya finally got involved, slapping the top of Nicky's head until he released Noah. Then she slapped him across the face.

Even though she fully expected retaliation, it never came. Nicky just touched his cheek and sank into the chair.

"You are going to stop this. Understand?" She yelled in his face. He just silently nodded.

"Mr. Newman," Maya said, addressing Noah's father.

"Just call me Nick." He smiled at her flirtatiously.

"Mr. Newman," she repeated, crossing her arms.

Nick's smile fell into a pout and he looked towards Eden, who raised a fist to his face. Shoulders sagging, Nick rubbed his hands and warily looked at Maya. "What?"

"Your father had Eden here kidnapped, locked up in a clinic in New York, and had another woman impersonate her."

"Courtney," Noah told his dad quietly. He then looked at Victor. "Courtney was alive all that time and you knew it! You kept it from me and when I finally moved on with RJ you made her get plastic surgery and sent her back into my life. What the hell?!"

"Preposterous." Victor waved his good hand dismissively.

"That's not all, Dad. Victor had Ricky Williams, RICKY WILLIAMS, get surgery and seduce my boyfriend away from me at the same time. Courtney almost killed RJ. And Ricky killed her."

Even though he looked confused, Nick carefully nodded along. "RJ I know, unfortunately. Eden, I'm sorry that happened."

Then Nick looked at Maya. "I don't know this one."

"That's Maya." Noah was beaming even though the situation didn't call for it. "She's my girlfriend."

"Am I?" She put her fingertips to her chest and realized her heart was racing.

"After saying it, I certainly hope so."

Nodding, Maya smiled so widely her cheeks hurt. "I guess I am."

"Why does that matter?" Victor barked, harshing the moment.

"Did I say you could talk?" Eden turned around and glared at the old man.

"The day Victor Newman takes orders from street trash is the day the world ends."

Eden began to climb over the back of the sofa, but Noah rushed over and grabbed her much the same way he had Nicky.

"He's not worth it," Noah told her. "Don't let him goad you into anything. It's what he does."

"My brother Michael is gonna sue the hell out of you," Eden threatened angrily. "This is gonna be my ranch soon enough."

"So you say." Victor seemed unconcerned.

"This is a lot to take in." Nick reached out and grabbed Noah's arm. "You're certain Victor did everything you said? You have proof?"

"We have Eden. Are you saying you don't believe me when she's right here beside you? Come on, Dad. You have to know better."

"I am curious as well. All of you keep accusing me of these crimes, but you've offered nothing in the way of evidence. Just baseless accusations." Victor tested his sore wrist and Maya was disappointed that it seemed to be working fine. "Who are you to accuse me with no evidence?"

"Ricky Williams himself told us this. All of it," Noah pointed out.

"Hearsay. If that man is still alive, as you claim, then why has he not come forward? Why should the police take the word of a madwoman who broke into my home and attacked me?" Maya was mad that Victor had a point.

"We'll have the other Eden exhumed. The coroners will prove that it's Courtney." Maya stared right at Victor. "You know it's her."

"I know nothing. Even if the woman Michael and Lauren buried isn't his sister, there is nothing tying me to her. You'll never find a connection."

"There are records of Eden being at Crichton-Clark! She was at that Dr. Facinella's. Stop lying, Victor. Why won't you just be honest for once?" Noah's voice was starting to get raw from all of the shouting.

"I'm glad you're alive."

Everyone looked at Nicky, but he was looking only at Eden.

"I'm so happy you're okay. That other woman, I didn't think you'd ever do those things. You would never try to kill me. And you went through all that because of me. Because of us."

Nicky's eyes drifted from Eden to Noah. They lingered on his ex for a few seconds before moving on to Noah's father.

"Nick... Mr. Newman. I'm sorry I attacked you and blackmailed you. They won't get out. Ever. I promise. And Maya? I wish I had been a better friend to you. You were always so nice to me."

There was a twinge in her heart. Maya remembered how she was still letting RJ take the blame for her plan with the recording.

"It's okay. Really," she told him.

"Noah..." Nicky looked back to RJ's ex. "You don't have to accept it, but I'm sorry I ruined your life. He... I... No, WE did a lot of horrible things to so many people. Most of them deserved it, but it doesn't mean it was okay for us to do what we did."

"Are you talking about you and Ivy?" Noah looked as confused as everyone else. Maya doubted Ivy had anything to do with this. "Nicky, what did you and Ivy do? Is this about Hope?"

"What is going on? What is this foolishness? Who is Nicky?" Victor demanded.

"SHUT UP!" Noah screamed at his grandfather. He never took his eyes off of Nicky, though.

"I hope you and Maya are happy. I really do." Tears started to fall down Nicky's cheeks and he threw himself out of the chair and ran to the exit. Everyone was stunned at his sudden change in behaviour.

Everyone except Maya, who looked at Noah. She was not sure if she liked where her mind was going.

"I don't think that was Nicky."

"What?" Noah walked to Maya and grabbed her hands. "What are you telling me?"

"Noah, I think that was RJ just now. I think he might be back." She nodded and released him. He lingered for a seconds before she told him to go.

And as much as she didn't want to, Maya stood and waited as her boyfriend chased after his ex.

B&B

When he caught with him, RJ was leaning against a tree and trying to catch his breath. The shorter man saw Noah running up to him and looked scared to death. He didn't run away again, though.

“RJ?” Noah slowed down and kept about five feet between himself and his ex. “Are you still Nicky, or is RJ back?”

“Does it matter?” The other man's voice was wet and strained, as if he were trying to not to cry.

Noah didn't know how to answer that question. Instead, he asked a new one. “Are you okay?”

“I don't know. Why are you here?” RJ punched the tree and then shook his hand and danced about as if in pain. “Maya's waiting for you.”

“Maya knows I still care about you, RJ. She does, too. We all do. Well, maybe not my dad since you knocked him out and blackmailed him, and Victor hates you, but Victor hates everyone.” Noah smiled and bent down so he could look up at RJ, but got nothing in return.

Sighing, RJ ran a finger over his sore knuckles and carefully leaned into the tree. “He did so many awful things, Noah. Things that I can't even imagine. And he did them because of me.”

“Victor?”

RJ shook his head. “No. Nicky, my other self. You don't get it. I barely get it. I can only remember the bigger bits and pieces, like trying to recall a movie when you haven't seen it for a few years.”

All Noah wanted to do was hug RJ and welcome him back. But something about his ex told him that it would be a bad idea. “So it is you. Good. Hope was worried about you, RJ. How did you come back?”

“I don't know.”

“Was it when Maya slapped you?”

“I DON'T KNOW!” RJ screamed, pulling himself away from the tree and away from Noah. “It's not like a switch where I'm just him and then I'm me. I don't know if there are triggers or how it works. If getting hit did that, there were plenty of times for me to surface. But I didn't then and I don't know why I did now. Okay?”

“I'm sorry.” Noah stood up straight and stuck his hands in his pockets. “But I am glad you're back.”

RJ looked up at the moon and stars. Noah breathed and watched it form into vapour in the cool but not cold night air. They both stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

“You should go back,” RJ told Noah as he ran his left index finger the length of his right forearm. “They're all waiting on you and I shouldn't be there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nicky said everything to Victor already. But compared to what Eden went through, nothing happened to me. I'm going back to LA. It's time I faced the consequences of my actions.” RJ looked to Noah and he was so sad.

“Whatever happened, RJ, it was Nicky that did it. He's just a symptom of illness. It wasn't your fault.”

“That's like saying an alcoholic isn't responsible for hitting someone while driving drunk.” RJ shook his head and turned his back to Noah. “I'm going home. You go back to Eden and Maya and your family. Give the old bastard hell for me.”

He walked away. Noah let him.


	16. Chapter 16

"This has not been a good week for the Spencer family..."

"This is the last thing Forrester Creations needed," Rick complained.

"After the leaking of the fights at the wedding of designers Caroline Spencer and Ridge Forrester..."

"Let me listen to this," Brooke told her son, following up with shushing noises.

"Celia Fitzgerald, the newly discovered daughter of Bill Spencer, was found dead last night. The LAPD is reporting that it was a gunshot wound, but have not elaborated any further."

"Oh no!" Brooke gasped. "That's so awful."

"And shortly before that story broke, sources revealed to us that Bill's marriage to his wife Katie has ended as a result of his sex tape with Katie's nephew RJ Logan."

"I still can't believe RJ would sleep with that man. Has he no standards?" Rick scoffed, but Brooke cleared her throat. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

"And those same sources have revealed to us that Bill Spencer has filed a civil suit against his former nephew, accusing him of sexual assault. Our sources tell us that Mr. Spencer believes his impaired state means he was unable to legally consent to the sexual activity as well as the recording."

"Turn it off," Hope ordered. It was at this point that her mother and sibling realized that she was awake.

"Oh, Hope. Honey!" Brooke cried, pulling her daughter into a hug while Rick powered down the television. "We were so worried about you! Amber called us the moment you got to the hospital."

"She brought me?" Hope looked at the walls and the bed and remembered her time in the clinic. "I want to go home."

"The doctors need to make sure you didn't hit your head," Brooke told her daughter, but Hope wasn't having it.

"No, Mom. I can't be here. I'm fine. I was just caught off guard."

"By what?" Rick leaned against the wall and stared at his sister. "Hope, you don't exactly have a history of fainting, and one of the nurses assured us that you aren't pregnant."

"Amber didn't tell you?" Hope looked at her family but they seemed confused. "My brother is in town."

"I never left," Rick pointed out. "And RJ's been back."

"No, my other brother. On Deacon's side."

Rick grew quiet and looked out the window. Brooke grabbed her daughter's hand.

"Little Deacon?"

"He's not so little anymore, Mom. And he goes by D, I guess. How did Amber not tell you guys?"

"You know why." Rick kept staring out the window.

Then Hope remembered. It had happened before she was born, but they had told her all about Rick and Amber's baby. She had forgotten about her father's role in all of that.

"Right. Sorry." Hope looked at her mom and squeezed her hand. "D is... I don't know if he knew who I was. I didn't recognize him. But he's sleeping with RJ."

Rick punched the wall and Hope recoiled slightly.

"Where is she?" Rick wasn't talking to Hope.

"Amber is at work. Rick, you're the CEO of Forrester. You can't go there." Brooke let go of Hope and stood up to her son. "I don't have time for you to go and yell at my only designer!"

"Only designer?" Rick cocked an eyebrow. "Mom, what about RJ?"

Casting her eyes to the floor, Brooke sighed. "Amber signed the paperwork this morning, before I met you at the hospital. I love your brother, but it's just been too much. We didn't even know about the lawsuit!"

"You fired RJ?" Hope gasped.

"He doesn't know yet. He's not returning our calls and nobody knows where he is. These disappearing acts are a big part of it. I have a business to run, Hope. L&M isn't Forrester. We don't have the cash reserves to get us through these scandals."

"Mom, you can't do this. It's not his fault!" Hope argued.

"Really, Hope?" Rick looked away from the window and to his sister. "I know you two are close and always have been, but you can't excuse the things he's done. I mean, I find the whole thing hilarious, but RJ knew what he was doing. We all have to answer for actions sometime."

"Like how you treated Maya when she was outed?" Hope challenged. Rick flinched and she almost apologized. "Mom, listen to me, RJ didn't do any of this."

"Honey, you've seen the videos. Of course he did."

Hope took a deep breath. "You guys don't understand. With everything happening with Ridge, I didn't know how to say it, but RJ isn't himself. He hasn't been for months."

"He's always been a brat, Hope," Rick pointed out. "He's just lost sight of where the line is."

"NO!" she yelled. "I am telling you that RJ had DID. He hasn't done any of this. It was his alter. It was Nicky. Our brother is sick, Rick. He needs help, not judgment"

And as Brooke and Rick stared at each other, Hope held her head and groaned.

B&B

The hospital room scared Caroline. Taylor was holding Ridge's hand and the only sound to be heard was the beeping of the monitors.

"Caroline." Ridge tried to sit up but Taylor put a hand on his chest and he stayed down.

"Ridge." Caroline's heart broke and she took his other hand. He pulled it away. She just stared at her empty grip.

"He wanted to tell you in person," Taylor said, stroking the back of Ridge's hand. She didn't look happy, or that's what Caroline guessed: it was hard to tell what expression Taylor was wearing.

"Tell me what?" Caroline's voice was quiet and broke on the last word. It took all of her self-control to keep from bawling.

"I'm... Taylor." His laboured breathing was frightening, but so were the words he struggled to say.

"Taylor?" Even though she knew what he meant, Caroline looked to the other woman for confirmation. That was when she noticed the ring on Taylor's left finger.

"The press doesn't know that you two split up yet," Taylor explained. "But Ridge needs someone who will stand by him. Someone who will take care of him."

"You're marrying her?" Caroline stepped away from the bed. It had been a day. One day! "But I thought..."

"Sorry." Ridge's eyes were full of pain: Caroline saw her own heart in them and she watched it die.

Without even a goodbye, Caroline ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. She made it halfway down the hall before she crashed to her knees and began sobbing.

B&B

"Come now, Ivy. You knew the terms of our agreement. You knew there was a deadline."

Biting her thumbnail, Ivy fought the urge to smash her phone. "Just me another week, Jerry. That's all I need. Please!"

"It's too late, Love. My clients were very unhappy with your performance. I had to give them something. Helena was already upset with you for what you did to her great grandson. I'm the only reason you're alive. She wanted your failure punished by death."

Ivy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Jerry, how much did you take?"

"All of it, my dear. That is what you agreed to. Your actions in Port Charles interrupted many of the Cassadine operations. The cost of your recovery and dealing with the law enforcement was high enough. You didn't want to be the target of the old bat."

"It's just a diamond, Jerry. Worth a few million at the most." Ivy opened her eyes and stared at the mansion she most likely could no longer afford.

"It's not the value that mattered. It was what it could do." Jerry sighed. "I truly am sorry, Ivy. But be grateful you still have your life."

Ivy terminated the call and slung the phone into the wall. "Some life this is. I can't go back to be just another Forrester. I won't."

She picked up her tablet just to see how bad the damage was and if Jerry had found her hidden accounts.

B&B

Nobody ever visited Steffy's apartment. She liked it that way. If they needed her, they could find her at work or they could fuck off.

So when someone knocked on her door, she was perturbed. At first, she was going to just ignore it, but she had a feeling that told her she didn't want to do that.

"Bill?"

The man looked broken. Instincts kicked in and Steffy hugged him.

"She's dead," he cried, burying his face in Steffy's shoulder. "I barely knew her and she's gone. Just like that."

"Shh. You didn't know, Bill. It's not your fault." Steffy stroked the back of his head and did her best to ignore that his tears were ruining her top. "I heard about Celia on the news. I'm so sorry."

She pulled away and invited him inside. Closing the door behind him, Steffy led Bill to her sofa and sat beside him.

"It is my fault, Steffy. If I'd never sought her out, she never would've been in LA. She would still be alive." He was trying to pull himself together.

"I know how you feel, Bill. When Aly was murdered, I felt just like you. She was my cousin and I ignored her and then she was dead. I just wondered if there was anything I could have done differently. If I'd checked on her after RJ ruined the wedding, would she still be here?"

"I hope they catch that maniac with the axe."

"And I hope they fry the bastard who killed Celia. I didn't ever meet her, but I heard she was a sweet girl."

Bill sighed and looked at the floor. "I wasn't her father, you know."

"Don't talk like that. Just because you didn't know about her doesn't mean you're nothing to her. Whether you knew her for a month or a decade, she was yours. Blood means a lot, Bill. Sometimes, it means everything."

"You don't understand." He looked at Steffy and looked ready to cry. He was going to continue, but she put her hand over his mouth.

"I understand that you're a man who would do anything for his children, and right now you feel like there's nothing you can do." Steffy slowly pulled her hand away from Bill's mouth and moved it to his shoulder. "You loved her."

"Yeah. I did," Bill agreed.

Then he kissed Steffy. It caught her off guard, but she didn't push him away. Instead, she pushed herself against him, climbing on top of the man and pinning him to the sofa.

She felt her nails dig into his flesh as she tore open his shirt, then she bent down and licked the reddened scratch marks. Steffy's hands explored Bill's body and she pulled herself up to his face for another kiss. He was more than willing to comply.

B&B

"Thomas!" She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. The woman looked past him and to his companion. "Good to see you again, Layla."

"Pam," she smiled. Layla had a pretty smile.

Turning her attention back to her great nephew, Pam touched his cheek. "I heard about your father. I'm so sorry."

"So am I." Thomas stiffened and Pam noticed.

"What's wrong, Doodlebug? Didn't the doctors say that he's expected to recover?"

He couldn't speak. Layla rubbed his arm and answered in his place. "The family never told him. Nobody thought to call him. They don't even know he's in LA."

"I'm not as used to it as I thought. I guess," the man added sadly.

Smiling, Pam took his hand. "Well, you just turn that frown upside down, Mister. Because I used my contacts on the inside to dig up some dirt on Miss Ivy. She has a weakness. Maybe two. That little girl tried to hide them, but you know me."

"Pam has a nose for gossip," Thomas explained to Layla. He turned back to his aunt. "And just what is it? What can we use against her?"

"Not what, Tommy Toes. Who. They're people and one of them is here in LA." Pam kept smiling as she explained her plan. As she talked, they climbed into the town car and drove away from the prison.

B&B

RJ was tired. The bus ride home had been long. He didn't want to deal with an airport: there were too many people who might recognize him. He was grateful that people in Wisconsin seemed to have no idea who he was. International fashion houses meant nothing to people who still wore denim bibs and couldn't afford boots made of real leather.

He'd also developed an appreciation for a cheap hoodie. He could put it up so that nobody could his face, and because he was white nobody thought he was planning to rob them. It made getting home easy.

The employees and fellow tenants of his building whispered when he had returned, but RJ didn't care. He'd already had one sex tape leak: folks gossiping about a second meant less than nothing to him.

When he stepped off the elevator and approached the door to his loft, RJ felt a chill run down his spine. The last time he had been home, he’d agreed to help Ivy bring down his family. How he wished he could blame that on his other self.

Looking around the hallway, RJ dug in his pockets for his keys. All he wanted to do was sleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep on the bus. His brain wouldn’t shut up but he hoped there was enough beer in the fridge to fix that. He was almost 21 so he didn’t really care that it was technically a crime.

He wouldn’t be able to drink anything, though. The moment RJ stepped into the loft a man appeared, slammed the door, and held a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t scream. Please.”

RJ stared into the eyes of the man he’d with whom he had once been infatuated. He nodded.

“Thad?” He asked once the hand was off his mouth. True to his word, RJ didn’t scream, but he very much wanted to do so. The man didn’t answer and RJ looked away. “Ricky.”

“So, you know.” The man put his hand on RJ’s shoulder, but he flinched away. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for, Ricky?” RJ looked back into the man’s eyes but couldn’t read them. “For working for Victor Newman? Releasing that sex tape of us?”

“I didn’t release that tape, RJ. That was Victor. I didn’t know he was spying on me.” Ricky touched RJ again and this time he didn’t pull away. “I was supposed to keep them in check and work on you if Courtney failed.”

“Courtney?” RJ felt a foot tall as he stood there and let his once-but-not-quite ex explain everything. “That was her name?”

Nodding, Ricky took a cautious step up to RJ and gently grabbed his arm. “Yeah. Her name was Courtney. I didn’t know she’d actually try to kill you. I’m so, so sorry, RJ. You are RJ, aren’t you? Or are you still Nicky?”

RJ jerked free of Ricky and stepped backwards until he hit the door. “How did you know?”

“So, you are Nicky.” Ricky looked up to the ceiling as if in prayer. After a few seconds, he lowered his eyes until they met RJ's. “I don’t know how this works. Forgive me.”

“I’m not. He’s gone. For now. But how did you know about Nicky?” RJ was starting to get loud and Ricky shushed him.

“I know because Victor had me locked up with your sister and Eden. They didn’t tell you?”

Shaking his head, RJ walked to the fridge. He really wanted that beer. “All they said was that Victor hired you.”

“And my compensation was illegal incarceration.”

“Am I supposed to feel bad for you?” RJ slammed the fridge shut and cracked open the beer. “You pretended to care about me. I gave up my boyfriend for you!”

RJ took a swig of the beer then immediately spat it on the floor. It was disgusting. How had Nicky been able to drink it?

Gently, Ricky approached and took the beer from RJ, sitting it on the counter. “I’m not asking you to pity me.”

“What are you asking for then?” Inside, RJ had no idea what he wanted, but he kept up the cold exterior. “What do you want, Ricky? Why are you here?”

“I want your help, RJ. Victor Newman is a powerful man and I’ve made some mistakes in my past. I have nowhere else to go.” Ricky sounded sincere and traced RJ’s jawline with the tips of his middle and ring fingers.

Gulping down the feelings he didn’t want to feel, RJ did his best to not react to the man’s touch. It wasn’t working. “Why would I help the man who conned me?”

When Ricky smiled, RJ began to melt. “Because I have information. I can’t prove any of it, but it’s important stuff.”

“Like what?” RJ asked, shuddering as Ricky began stroking the back of his neck.

“You know Victor had me here to seduce you and keep Courtney in check, but I had another mission.” Ricky put her mouth next to RJ’s ear and spent a few seconds just breathing. RJ closed his eyes and felt his knees start shaking.

Against his own wishes, he clutched Ricky’s shoulders to support himself.

“Someone knew about me and Courtney. She knows other things as well. And she told nobody. She kept our secret so that I wouldn’t reveal hers.”

“Ivy?” RJ gasped. Ricky pressed one hand to the small of his back and continued stroking his neck with the other.

“Taylor.” Ricky’s whispered name was like a bucket of ice water and RJ violently pushed himself away from the man.

“WHAT?!” RJ screamed, sending Ricky into a panic.

“Please!” he begged. “Nobody can know I’m here.”

“Taylor Hayes?” RJ had stopped yelling, but his barely contained fury rippled under his skin. “The cunt who outed me to the press? The bitch who spent all my childhood ruining my mother's relationships?”

Nodding, Ricky grabbed at RJ’s arm. He tried to pull loose, but RJ found himself drawn back to the man.

“Yes, her. RJ, what your alter did? Hell, what I did? It’s nothing compared to what that woman did. Even after Courtney tried to kill you she stayed silent. Because of her, that guy Wyatt and his mother were attacked.”

“What did she do, Ricky?” RJ grabbed the man’s shirt and shook him. “What did that fucking whore do?”

“Do you know the name Sheila Carter?” Ricky asked. RJ nodded, having heard the stories growing up. “Taylor kept her alive, RJ. After the boat explosion in Genoa City, Taylor had Sheila spirited away and locked up. She took Sheila's daughter Diana and hid her. And even when Sheila got loose, Taylor said nothing. Just like when Courtney tried to kill you.”

“I’m gonna kill her.” RJ released Ricky and began thinking of what to do. “That BITCH is gonna pay!”

“If you help me, I’ll do everything I can to help you, RJ.”

Then RJ made a decision he knew was foolish. “Do you have a phone?”

“Just a prepaid burner. Why?” Ricky pulled it out of his back pocket and RJ tried to remember her number.

“Just give it to me,” he ordered when the last digit clicked into place. Sneering a bit at it being a flip phone, RJ began dialing.

“Who is this?” the woman asked after the fourth ring.

“Ivy, it’s RJ. You need to come to my loft.”

“This isn’t a good time.” She sounded as pissed off and tired as RJ felt, but he didn’t care.

“Ivy, trust me, you need to hear this. I’ll make it worth your while.”


	17. Chapter 17

"There is a condo for lease in your building." Ivy threw her purse and jacket at her cousin and looked the loft over. "It better be at least this size."

"What are you talking about?" Ivy heard RJ kick the door shut and watched as he dumped her belongings on a nearby table.

"Hang it up. That's real panda fur and I don't need it getting damaged," she ordered as she walked across the loft to the fridge. She opened it and saw an expensive-looking bottle of beer.

There was a cough that she ignored. "What? Aren't pandas endangered?"

"That's the point, you whiny little poofter. I have it because nobody else can." Ivy scoffed, grabbed the bottle opener from the fridge, and popped the lid off the beer. "Now why am I here?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

Rolling her eyes, Ivy took a drink from the beer and refused to answer him. It was such a ludicrous question. Did he forget that she was the who covered up what happened to that twit Aly?

The beer, however, was dark and bitter. It reminded her of her youth. She smiled.

"Okay, fine, you can't tell anybody he's here." RJ walked to his closet and Ivy leaned against the counter. A tall, attractive man of an indeterminate ethnicity walked out and Ivy felt a stirring in her nether regions. She covered it up by taking another drink of beer.

"Who is this?" Ivy did her best to focus on her cousin and not the man whose very presence reminded her that she hadn't had sex since before her exploits in New York.

"This is Tha... Ricky. We used to be an item. Sorta."

"Sorta?"

Then the man spoke and Ivy felt a tingle run through her body. "Victor Newman hired me to seduce RJ."

"Newman?" That piqued Ivy's interest and she managed to suppress her horniness. She looked into RJ's eyes. "As in your ex-boyfriend? The one with the video?"

"No, we had the video." Ricky pointed at RJ, then back at himself. "Victor leaked it after he had me locked up."

"No, she means the video of me an Noah at the airport," RJ corrected.

"How many sex tapes do you have?" Ricky stared RJ and Ivy chuckled.

Sighing, RJ shook his head. "This wasn't... You know what? I don't even know anymore."

"What does this have to do with me?" As amusing as the conversation was, Ivy was more concerned with her recent financial difficulties. "This better not be a waste of my time."

"I was at Crichton-Clark." Ricky sat on the sofa and RJ joined him. Curious, Ivy leaned forward. "That's where Victor kept me. He didn't want it getting out that he hired me."

"When Noah and Maya were investigating Eden, that's where they found Hope. And Ricky."

"It sounds like there's a lot to this story, but skip to the part where I care."

RJ looked at Ricky and nodded. "I've got this."

"Okay."

"Do you know who Sheila Carter is?" RJ asked. It took every ounce of control Ivy had to not react.

"I've heard the stories."

"She was at Crichton-Clark, too. Ivy, Taylor Hayes, Steffy's mom, she faked Sheila's death and had her locked up. Nobody knew. We're the only ones who know."

"She escaped a few months ago," Ricky added. "Before Victor had me locked up. I was the one who had to keep Taylor quiet about Courtney. Sheila was my bargaining chip."

"Courtney?" Ivy was lost, but she remembered Sheila telling her about Taylor.

"It's a long story, but Taylor knew about me from the beginning. Me and Courtney. She has access to Dr. Fascinella and his records. It seems they're friends of some sort."

And there it was. They had given Ivy a reason to care. The last thing she needed was to be connected to Fascinella or Crichton-Clark. And if this Taylor knew about everything else, there was a chance she knew about Ivy's connections and just who funded her recovery. It was unacceptable.

"You said you would make this worth my while, but all you've done is tell me parts of a story." Ivy pulled at the pearls around her neck, wrapping them around her fingers. "What would you have me do? Why should I care?"

RJ sighed and Ricky touched his back. Ivy noted how her cousin tensed up at the contact.

"Taylor needs to pay, Ivy. Ricky was just doing a job, but Taylor has done nothing but fuck me over my entire life. I have nobody else to turn to right now."

"Still waiting on why I should care."

Then RJ smiled. "Isn't it obvious? Ivy, if you help me with Taylor, and Ricky with his legal problems, I'll give you Forrester Creations."

This caught Ivy off guard. She didn't like that. "How would pull that off?"

"I have my ways. Besides, it's not like it's my company. I have L&M, after all."

"I'm not so sure about that."

This time it was RJ's turn to be surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"Your friend here didn't tell you?" Ivy looked into Ricky's eyes but couldn't read him. It excited her. "You've been fired from L&M. It hit the news shortly after the reports of the lawsuit."

"Lawsuit? Fired?" RJ closed his eyes, shook his head, and then stared at Ivy. "WHAT?!"

"How could you not know?" Amused, Ivy pulled up an article on her new phone and handed it to her cousin. She watched the disbelief and rage build on his face. Ricky read over his shoulder but said nothing.

"I didn't rape anybody." RJ was shaking, and it wasn't from fear. "Bill wouldn't use the courts. This whole thing reeks of synthetic hair and botox."

"Pardon?" Ricky put a hand on RJ's thigh and Ivy watched the him grip the couch cushion.

"Steffy." RJ's voice was ice cold. Ivy was glad she'd decided to come over. She would have hated to miss this. "You've never met my sister, have you? The fucking bitch. This is her doing. God. I actually felt bad about everything I'd done, but he was right. He was fucking right! These people deserved every bit of it. And more.

"Steffy. Taylor. Bill. My dad. They thought it was bad before? It's about to get so much fucking worse."

RJ stormed out of the loft, leaving Ivy with Ricky. She just watched him for a few moments. Thoughts ran through her mind that would have made even the most seasoned of whores uncomfortable.

With a smile, she excused herself. After all, she had to see a man about a condo.

B&B

She wasn't sure why, but when Pam found the woman she wasn't at all surprised to see her fighting with a chicken. One hand wielded a steak knife.

"Cherylyn?" Pam closed the door behind her and gave her biggest smile. "Cherylyn Barnes?"

"Yes. Whazzit? Who are you?" The woman lost her grip on the chicken and it flapped away to the other side of the room. "You ain't seen nuffin, mate."

"Not a thing." Pam shook her head and smoothed out her dress. "My name is Pamela Douglas. I used to be a friend of your daughter's."

"Dez? She don't have friends. Not after she gots herself caught stealin them ciggies from the convenience market and didn't pay nobodies back for the bail money."

"Not Desiree. Your other daughter. Ivy." Pam joined Cherylyn at the small table and looked at the black candle. "I like your kitty ears."

"Pussi kisses!" Cherylyn laughed, puckering up and blowing kisses to Pam.

"Yes, well, about Ivy..." Pam started before Cherylyn interrupted her.

"Me and me Terry don't like talking bout her. Not after whats all she did." Cherylyn adjusted her glasses and frowned. "How do you know me Ivy, anyway?"

Clearing her throat, Pam reached into her purse and produced a small container of lemon bars. "We used to work at Forrester Creations together. Surely you heard about everything in the news."

"I know that Ivy and me lived with that boy here for awhile. She pretended to be her sissy Dez and conned me outs of me own home. I bet that stupid home wrecker slag Karen done took up wiv me Terry while I been here. They don't like me practicing me black magic in this home but she needs a good cursing."

"But I thought Eric's brother was Ivy's father. Who is Terry?"

"Terry is me husband and Dez's father. He also raised that ingrate Ivy after I had me an affair with that John Forresturd. He was a right sexy thing. I couldn't control meself. You know how it is."

"That I do, Pumpkin." Pam popped open the lemon bars and offered one to the mother of her nemesis. "Ivy framed me for her husband's murder. I was only just released."

"I'm sorry. I did me best to raise that girl right, Miss Pam, but Ivy never liked rules. She and that boyfriend of hers were always trouble back home."

"Boyfriend?" Pam tilted her head and Cherylyn held a hand to her mouth in shock.

"I didn't say nuffin bout no boyfriend."

Pam blinked and put a lemon bar in Cherylyn's hand. "Sweetie, it's okay. I just want to help you get your daughter under control. I'll get you out of this hole and someplace nice. I own a very expensive apartment building. I have a suite, its own floor, where you can stay. You can sacrifice all the chickens and perform all the dark arts you want.

"I just need you to tell me what you know. What is so important that Ivy had to haul you across an entire ocean and bury you in this retirement home? And just who is this boyfriend of hers?"

Cherylyn Barnes stared right into Pam's eyes and took a bite of the lemon bar.

B&B

The pounding on the door woke Steffy. She rolled over and found her bed empty, but heard the running of her shower. She ran her hand over the rumpled sheets and inhaled the scent of Bill Spencer.

The pounding continued.

Hatefully, Steffy glared at her door and pulled herself from the warmth of her bed. She grabbed a robe hanging off a bedpost and wrapped it around herself as she walked to the door. She wasn't surprised to see the little bastard who dared to bother her.

"RJ," she greeted with a sneer.

He responded by slapping her across the face and shoving her back into her apartment.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" RJ demanded as he stormed into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind him.

Steffy slapped him back with such force her little brother slammed into the wall. "I am your better in every way, RJ. You haven't figured that out yet? What possessed you to come to MY home and hit ME?"

"Don't act like you don't know." RJ straightened himself out. Even though his bruising and scratches from the wedding had faded, he still looked like shit.

It was impossible for Steffy to not laugh in his face.

"You mean your termination? I have nothing to do with L&M, RJ. That's all on you. Same with the lawsuit. Maybe if you spent more time going to work and less time raping straight men, you wouldn't be having these problems."

"You know what? I was feeling horrible for everything I'd done the few months. Legitimately terrible-"

"As you should. You're a piece of garbage," Steffy interrupted. Her brother contracted his fingers until both hands were fists.

"But the one thing I will never regret," he continued, a smile forming on his lips, "is beating your ass down at that abominable wedding."

"Is that what you think happened?" Steffy laughed loudly in his face.

He punched her in her face.

"You wanna give it another go without that bitch Caroline here to back you up?" RJ yelled at the top of his voice.

Obliging her brother's request, Steffy tackled him to the floor and sunk her nails into his cheeks. He grabbed her extensions and pulled them out. With a scream, Steffy dragged her nails down his face and bloody lines followed wherever they touched.

RJ managed to kick her off and her back hit an end table. As Steffy tried to recover, RJ wrapped her extensions around her neck and began to strangle her. Even though she couldn't breathe, Steffy somehow managed to scream as she laid blow after blow on her brother. He just seemed to draw the extensions tighter around her throat. Why did the Brazilians have to make them so durable?

After kneeing RJ in the groin, Steffy managed to kick him away. He hit the floor and she sucked in mouthfuls of air.

Before they could resume combat, Steffy's bathroom door opened and Bill walked out. He wore only a towel around his waist and water dripped from his well-muscled body and to the floor.

"Are you okay? I thought I heard..." Bill looked from Steffy and saw RJ lying on the floor.

Before anybody in the apartment could blink, Bill had RJ by the throat and threw him across the apartment. The kid slammed into a mirror and Steffy snorted.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Bill asked, shaking with fury.

Tossing her uneven hair over her shoulder, Steffy latched onto Bill's arm and smirked as her brother tried to stand. "Bill, be a dear and don't ask why the trash is here: just dispose if it properly."

His footing was unsteady, but RJ still rose and touched the back of his head. It was bleeding from the collision with the mirror. "You would take my sloppy seconds, Steffy. It's what you do. First you took Hope's, now mine. Who's next?"

Bill stomped over to RJ and backhanded him into the wall while Steffy laughed. She watched as Bill grabbed RJ by the collar of his shirt and dragged him across the floor. She opened her front door and Bill flung him into the hallway.

After slamming the door shut, Steffy locked it and pressed herself up again Bill. "Make love to me," she ordered. "Now."


	18. Chapter 18

"You're back!" Nicole threw her arms around D the moment he walked through the door. "I was so worried. After the last time you didn't come home..."

"Nobody is dead," D assured his girlfriend. He held her and kicked shut the door to their tiny room. "It wasn't like last time. I just needed some time to clear my thoughts."

"So you finally slept with him?"

It bothered D how there was no accusation to her voice. The tone was the same one she'd use if asking if he'd washed the dishes or taken out the trash. She just expected it to happen. Nicole wanted it to happen.

He held her a little while longer and breathed in her scent. "I didn't. I won't. She knows, Nicole."

Feeling his girlfriend squeeze him made D feel a bit better, but the feeling only lasted until she let him go. "Your sister? Hope?"

"She's in town," D answered, nodding as he spoke. "Somehow, she had RJ's phone. She showed up to dinner in his place. And she still had no clue who I was! It wasn't until Amber told her that she a clue. And then she..."

"She what?" Nicole sat on the bed and beckoned him over. Even though he was taller and stronger, she was the one who held him. He snuggled up against her and continued his story.

"She fainted." There was a touch of laughter to his voice he hadn't intended. "Can you believe it? She finally learns who I am and she faints. It's over."

"What?" As Nicole held her lover; she began to rock him as best she could. "We can salvage-"

"No!" D insisted, burying his face in her chest. He was certain that she could hear in his voice that he was doing his best not to cry. It made him feel like dirt.

"Okay then."

"Are you sure?" D didn't pull away from Nicole, but he did look up at her. "It's finally over?"

She smiled and ran a hand through his hair before drawing him up for a kiss. "It's over. We'll eat the money we spent. We'll go to some town where nobody knows either one of us. We'll disappear."

"I love you."

She clearly knew it was coming, so Nicole said it for him. "But?"

"But before we leave, I need to see them one last time. Both the kid and my sister."

B&B

Liam bounced his little brother on his knee and watched Katie try to figure out what to say. He was fine waiting because he didn't know how to feel, either.

"She was your sister." Katie was staring at her phone instead of Liam. He was fine with this.

"I guess. Even though we met, that's about all we did." Guilt stung at Liam's stomach and he stopped bouncing Will. "You lived with her. Are you okay? Everything with Dad and RJ, and then this?"

"I don't want to talk about RJ." Katie bit her lip and Liam could see the pain she was trying to hide.

"Okay." Liam sat Will down and his brother wandered away to his toy chest. "Can we talk about my dad, then? Have you heard from him?"

Shaking her head, Katie sighed. "We're divorced."

"And it was crazy fast. Did you file your divorce abroad?"

"We had already settled on the terms. No sense in dragging it out." Katie picked at an invisible piece of lint on her dress. "I'm still worried about him, though. Wyatt was hit by a car, then he and Quinn were put into those weird comas. Now Celia and Quinn are both murdered and nobody knows what's happening. They still haven't caught the axe murderer that got Aly."

"It's a scary world," Liam agreed. Then, he popped his knuckles. "Why did you ask me out here, Katie? Was it really about my dad?"

"Yes and no. We discussed the yes part..."

"But the no?" Liam didn't like how she had drifted off.

"I'll always care about you, Liam. You're practically my own son at this point and that's why I want you to be careful. You and Brooke both."

He gasped. "You know? How?"

"You two aren't as clever as you think." She gave him half a smile. "What you two do is your business, but things are getting crazy for our families. RJ is at war with everyone, and now Bill's part of it and I don't want you getting dragged into it if you can avoid it."

"I thought you didn't want to talk about RJ."

"It's not about him. It's about you keeping my sister safe."

B&B

"I don't think this feels right. It's like an ambush." Amber licked her thumb and rubbed a speck of dirt off her boots.

"It's not an ambush, Amber. It's an intervention," Taylor corrected. “If what you've told me is true, RJ is a very ill young man. It explains a lot of his more rash actions the last few months."

"But what about Ivy?" Rick looked uncomfortable and Amber wasn't sure why.

"This isn't about Ivy, Rick. It's about helping your little brother!" Brooke reminded him. "Ivy isn't important."

"Tell that to Hope." Rick looked at his little sister but Amber didn't do the same. She found it hard to even sit in the same room as her. "Ivy's the one that had her locked up in that clinic."

At this, Amber did look at Hope, who was decidedly not looking at anyone else.

"Ivy had you at a clinic?" Taylor sounded way too interested, but Amber was right there with her. She leaned in to hear Hope's answer.

"She was helping RJ. Or Nicky, but I don't think she knew that. Honestly, there isn't even any proof that Ivy did it." Hope's explanation left a lot to be desired. This was a lot less interesting than the last time Amber had a friend with DID. What were sex tapes and bridal brawls compared to robbing banks and chipmunk heads?

"What clinic was it?"

"Does it matter?" Hope asked, looking right at Taylor. "We're never going to prove Ivy did it. If there was a paper trail, it's already gone. This is a woman who blew up a hotel and got the charges dropped.

"My only concern right now is getting my brother back."

"Hope, you could be suffering PTSD or some sort of Stockholm Syndrome. It's important to talk about these things," Taylor continued, ignoring Hope's protest. "What was the name of the clinic?"

"That's enough, Taylor!" Brooke snapped, putting a comforting hand on Hope's shoulder. "If Hope wants to talk about what happened to her, she'll do it on her own time. This is about RJ. The only clinic I'm concerned with right now is the one he'll admitted to."

"He should be here any minute. His text said he'd show up at 2 to talk with me and Brooke about his firing." Amber reminded them. Then she saw that the front door was cracked open. Holding a finger up to the assembled, Amber stood up and walked to the door.

Throwing it open, Amber saw her best friend running to a taxi and jumping in the back seat. He'd heard them and was making a break for it!

"Guys, that was RJ. Or Nicky. Whatever his name is today. He's kinda getting away." Amber pointed out to the crowd. "What do we do now?"

B&B

"You're back." Ricky looked shocked. "I wasn't expecting you so soon. Don't you have things to do?"

Ivy pushed him into loft and slammed the door shut behind her. A chill ran down her spine as she locked it in place.

"There are important things that require my attention, but they can wait for an hour."

"An hour?" Ricky looked confused until Ivy ripped his shirt open. Buttons flew in every direction, but she paid no attention to them. Ivy's mind was on other things.

"I saw the tape. I know you aren't going to be a minuteman. Not like Liam." She reached up and slung an arm around Ricky's neck, then pulled his lips down to her own.

He pushed her away before the kiss could be consummated. "Ivy, what are you doing? I'm gay. After all, that's why Victor hired me to seduce your cousin."

"Fuck RJ." Ivy pressed a hand to Ricky's well-tanned chest and smiled. "You think you can fool me? A con knows a con, Papi. Tu no eres un maricon. Or was everything that happened with you and Eden Baldwin a lie? Does the little faggot know you killed a security guard to get to her in Crichton-Clark?"

Ricky grabbed Ivy's wrist and twisted her hand away from body. The pain was barely noticeable next to the excitement flooding through her body. She wanted it, and she wanted it rough.

"What do you know?"

"Everything. You and Daisy Carter. How you worked with Victor to cover up your death and frame your father. How you're obsessed with Eden. I don't know why. She seems like such a bore."

Ricky released Ivy and then slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. She flashed back to when her late husband had done the same thing and instinct kicked in.

Ivy fell to the floor with the blow, then kicked up so that her stiletto caught him in the groin. When the man doubled over, she produced her pepper spray and gave him a quick spritz in the face. It was barely enough to do anything.

Ricky screamed but Ivy wasn't worried. When she and her mother had lived in the loft, Ivy had soundproofed the whole thing. Nobody would hear a him. It was why nobody had heard Aly try to kill RJ, though the tiny poof was too stupid to wonder why.

"You don't get to hit me," Ivy laughed as she grabbed the man by the hair. She threw him to the floor and began to touch herself at the sight of him writhing around in pain. It had been too long since Ivy had been this aroused. Not since Australia.

She was done with struggle dick. Liam had been a piss poor lover and she was never going to sleep with Julian's wrinkled old ass. Ivy hadn't even realized how much she needed the touch of a real man until she saw this one.

"Fuck me," she ordered as she climbed on top of Ricky and licked the tears from his eye sockets. Her tongue burned but she didn't care. Her focus was solely on the meat and muscle beneath her. She groped at his chest before kissing him. Ivy began to peel his shirt off the rest of the way, not caring if the thrashing was a result of his pain or his resistance to her touch.

When her fingers reached his belt, Ricky managed to grab her hand and pull it away. For his disobedience, Ivy pulled his arm up to her mouth and bit his wrist until it bled. He used his free hand to rip off her blouse and wipe at his face.

Ricky threw it away and blinked at Ivy. She saw something in his eyes: an intoxicating mixture of rage and lust clouded by pain. He managed to throw her off, then climbed on top of her and wrapped his hands around her throat.

Electricity spread through Ivy's body as he choked her and she arched against his body, scratching and clawing. Then he kissed her and his hands made their way from her throat to the back of her bra. He undid it in record time.

"Can you even see me?" she growled into his mouth.

Before he could answer, Ricky's phone began to ring. He climbed off Ivy and began fumbling around the floor searching for it, but she snatched it before he could find it.

"We're in the middle of something."

"You don't understand. Only two people have that number. You and RJ," he explained, holding hand out.

Ivy climbed to her feet and answered the phone. "Hello?" She tucked her hair behind her ears and sat on the sofa.

"Ivy? You're still there?" Her cousin sounded confused. He also sounded panicked. "Why do you have Ricky's phone?"

"Why do you think you're allowed to ask me questions?" She was joking, but just barely.

"Uh, sorry? Listen, I need to talk to him. It's important."

The man was still on the floor, crawling in the direction of Ivy's voice.

"I'm putting it on speaker," she informed RJ. After doing so, she held the phone in Ricky's direction. He was still blind like she was still horny.

"That's fine. Whatever."

"RJ?" Ricky called out, touching Ivy's foot. She pulled it away and he came closer. Then she wrapped her legs around his neck, pulling his face closer to her crotch.

"Ricky? Oh, thank god. I need a favour from you. It's kinda huge, but it'll help with keeping you out of jail."

"Anything."

There was a long pause. "I need you to pack us a bag. I'm on my way there and we need to go to Vegas. Tonight."

"Vegas? Why?" Ricky was sweaty profusely, and it just made Ivy hotter despite RJ's attempts to kill the mood.

"Because I need you to marry me as soon as possible."


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh my god!" Layla squealed, throwing her arms open. "You're finally home!"

Maya returned the hug. "I missed you," she said as she squeezed her friend. "How was LA while we were gone?"

"We?" Layla pulled away from Maya and looked past her friend, but there was nobody else in the hallway.

"He had somewhere else to be," Maya explained. "And before you say it, you were right."

"I'm always right, Maya. You need to remember that. Now get your ass in here." She stepped back and let her friend into her apartment. As soon as she could, Layla slammed the door shut and guided the other woman to the sofa. "Coffee?"

"Yes. Please. The flight was horrendous. Better than crossing the Mexican border in the back of a cramped truck, but not much."

"I want to know what that means, but not right now." Layla grabbed a couple mugs from the cabinet and grabbed the pot from the coffee maker. "You are going to tell me everything about you and Noah Newman, and then we'll discuss you sneaking across the border."

"It wasn't sneaking!" Maya objected. The look Layla gave made it clear that she knew better. "Well, it was, but not in the way you're thinking."

"Because you know what I'm thinking." Layla joined Maya on the sofa and handed her one of the mugs. "Maya Avant, you know what I wanna hear."

"It's a long story."

"I have all day for my best friend. Rick doesn't really need me, anyway."

For a moment, Maya's smile faltered. Layla sat her mug on the coffee table, then pulled Maya's out of her hands and did the same.

"Are you still hung up on the man who abandoned you when you were outed? Really?"

"Technically, I left him." Maya corrected.

Layla refused to accept that. "And that was the best thing to do. I am saying this as your friend and not as his employee: the man is a pig and you deserve better. And you definitely got it. Noah Newman is FINE."

"He is, isn't he?" Maya's smile returned and it made Layla feel good for the first time in weeks.

B&B

Noah didn't know why he was nervous. Everything was finally working out. Eden wasn't letting Victor off the hook for what he did to her, RJ was back in control, and he was happy with Maya.

Still, he stood frozen at the front door of Brooke Logan's mansion.

After five minutes, he gathered enough courage to ring the doorbell. Brooke answered, looking confused until she hugged him.

"This is weird," Noah pointed out, remembering the time he had slept with Brooke. "Can you stop?"

"Sorry," Brooke apologized. She let Noah go and neither was able to look at the other. "I actually need to be at the office, but I don't want to be away from Hope. Ever since she got home..."

"Is she okay?" Noah's voice developed a high pitch on the last word.

Nodding Brooke, did her best to let Noah into the mansion without them touching or getting too close to each other. "She's upstairs in her old room."

"I remember which one. RJ gave me the tour when we were still together." Noah was really reconsidering his decision to stop by. He probably should've gone to Liam to see if he could get his internship back.

Briefly, Brooke touched Noah's arm. "I do need to get going, but thank you for bringing her home. There are no hard feelings between us."

"Sure." Noah had no idea what all Brooke knew. He didn't want to say anything to anybody before he could talk to Hope. After all, she was the one that had been locked up and drugged for weeks. It was doubly important that he not talk to anyone about Ivy until he'd talked to Hope and RJ.

RJ didn't deserve to be punished for whatever Ivy had manipulated Nicky into doing, but Noah couldn't face his ex alone. He needed backup: he needed Hope.

Brooke left Noah alone, saying again that she was needed at the office. He stared at the stairs and gulped. His heart hammered against his rib cage as he grabbed the railing. His palms were so sweaty he almost lost his grip and fell before he took the first step.

It was impossible to tell how long it took for Noah to reach the top of the stairs, but when he did he was sweating profusely. Had the air conditioning gone out?

By the time he reached Hope's door, Noah's shirt was soaked. He didn't feel sick. It made no sense for him to be sweating so profusely, except everywhere he looked he remembered something.

There was the linen closet, where one of the maids had walked in on him making out with RJ during a dinner party for L&M. There was the doorway to the bathroom he used when he and RJ had stayed over during one of the never ending remodels. There was always something.

And when Hope's bedroom door opened, there was what felt like a cooling breeze for Noah. He didn't even have to knock.

"Noah?" She looked confused, then concerned. "Are you okay? You're all sweaty."

"I'm good," he answered, leaning against the wall and pulling at the collar of his t-shirt so his body could breath.

"What are you doing here?" She looked at him, then back to her phone. "Is it about what Nicky did?"

"Nicky? What?" It was Noah's turn to be confused. "Hope, I ran into your brother in Genoa City. Nicky and my grandfather were having it out, but then RJ came back."

"He couldn't have, Noah." Hope began tapping her foot absentmindedly. "RJ would never do this."

"What did he do, Hope? Because I swear, when he left Wisconsin, it was RJ."

"He must have lied to you. Which means you probably don't know." Hope bit her lip and handed her phone to Noah. It took everything he had not to smash the screen.

"This is not real." Noah wasn't asking a question.

"I don't know what he's thinking, Noah. Nicky is unpredictable. I mean, nobody saw him conspiring with Ivy to have me locked up."

"I can't." Noah leaned against the wall, staring at the screen as he slid to the floor. He didn't cry. He couldn't cry. He was too pissed off.

"Noah, I'm glad you're here. If you really did get through to RJ in Wisconsin, I need you to try it again. The pictures were taken in Vegas, but the interview says he's already back in LA. He might be at RJ's loft."

That was when Noah dropped the phone and angrily slapped his kneecap. His palm stung a bit but he didn't care. He'd lived in that loft. It was where he had first inserted himself back into RJ's life. It was where he learned that cunt Taylor had outed both of them.

And now his ex's alternate personality was likely there with his new husband. Noah wanted so badly for Nicky to be in charge, because he didn't know what he'd do if it really was RJ who had married Ricky Williams.

B&B

Taylor heard the knock on the door while she was holding Ridge's hand. Nodding at her fiance, she gave him a squeeze and stood up. She about screamed when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"RJ?" She hadn't told Ridge about his son's DID. It would have hampered his recovery. She'd just had her cast removed herself.

"That's right. It's me." Nicky tilted his head and had his hands clasped behind his back. There was a fake smile on his face that did nothing to hide the hate in his eyes. "How have you been, Taylor?"

"I'm okay. My leg is better." She nervously looked to Ridge and did her best to mold her lips into a smile. "Ridge, Honey? RJ came to visit you."

"Honey?" Nicky's confusion caught Taylor's attention. She unconsciously made to hide her engagement ring. It didn't matter. "You two got married? What happened to Caroline?"

"Caroline is..." Taylor started before Nicky pushed past her. She noticed that his hands were shoved into his back pockets.

"I was asking him." Nicky loomed over his father, staring at the ring on his finger. "At least this one isn't racist."

"That's enough," Ridge told his son. Taylor put a hand on Nicky's shoulder and he flinched away from her.

"We aren't married, RJ," Taylor informed the young man. "Not yet, anyway. Your dad needs long term care and I want to be there for him."

"Of course you do." The feigned politeness in Nicky's voice scared the hell out of Taylor. Then he looked back to his father. "Actually, I'm here to bury the hatchet."

Taylor had to sit down. Nicky was playing a game, a dangerous game where only he knew the rules, but for the first time since his suicide attempt Ridge was smiling.

"You are?"

Nodding, Nicky forced another smile. Ridge was falling for it, but Taylor knew better. He was plotting something.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I was an idiot, Dad. But after last night I decided it's best to forgive and forget. I'm legitimately glad you're alive. Always believe that."

"What happened last night, RJ?" Taylor leaned forward, doing her best to sound curious and not suspicious. "What brought this about? You didn't seem to care at all before."

"Leave him be," Ridge ordered with a chuckle. He was genuinely happy and it broke Taylor's heart. He deserved so much better than whatever this thing pretending to be RJ was plotting.

"It's fine, Dad. I really don't mind." Nicky then made a point of using his left hand to scratch at his hairline. "I can't stay too long. I have an apartment at the salon. I'm trying out a lavender colour now that my hair is finally long enough to dye."

Taylor gasped when she saw it. It took a few more seconds for Ridge to pick up on it.

"Ring." Ridge was breathing heavily as he struggled to point at the thin metal band around Nicky's left ring finger.

"Oh, you guys didn't see the news?" Nicky gave a little squeal and held his hand up so they could see the ring more clearly. "I totally got married last night. My new husband kinda put everything into perspective for me."

Even though he was smiling, when Nicky's eyes drifted over to Taylor she shivered.

"Who?" Ridge asked, his arm dropping back onto the bed with a loud crashing sound.

Nicky lowered his left hand and played with the zipper on his jacket. "Do you remember that guy I was seeing a few months ago?"

"You married Noah?" Taylor's mouth hung open.

Shaking his head, Nicky denied the guess. "Nope. The other one. He was going by Thad Pasado then."

Taylor felt her heart stop. "The one in the tape?"

"Which tape, Taylor? There have been so many. You even shot one yourself." Nicky gave her a shit-eating grin. She wanted to know what was happening.

"Son, leaver her alone." Ridge chastised his son and Nicky relented.

"Fine. Fine. I'm sorry, Taylor. Bygones." Nicky kept playing with his zipper. "Anyway, when we were together, he was going by the name Thad, but that wasn't his real name."

It took everything Taylor had not to scream. The one man who knew her secret was back in town, and he'd somehow married the alter of her stepson who hated her guts.

"It wasn't?" Taylor's heart threatened to beat out of her chest but she kept her cool on the outside.

"Nope. Noah's grandfather, Victor, he hates me. Like, a lot." Nicky bounced on his feet, looking inappropriately excited. "He hired Ricky to break me and Noah up. Once he did that, which sorta officially happened while I was in the hospital, he bounced. But he came back and confessed everything to me. He apologized and it meant a lot. Even though it started as a scam, we are in love."

"Ricky what?" Ridge asked, looking up at his son in confusion. "Why?"

"Ricky is a nickname. His actual name was Ricardo Williams. And before I forget to tell you, we both changed our last names. We wanted to have the same one, but he doesn't have the best relationship with his dad and, well, Mom just fired me from L&M."

"You're a Forrester again?" Taylor was stunned. She thought Nicky hated RJ's paternal clan.

"Oh, god no. No offense, Dad, but I kinda made a point of not being a Forrester. So to go back to it in less than a year kinda makes me look, well, like an idiot." Nicky twisted his wedding ring, then held it up to the light. "No, we both wanted a fresh start so we went with his mother's maiden name."

"Which is?" Ridge stared at his son.

"Braña. It's a bit unwieldy, RJ Braña, but I like it." Nicky pulled out his phone and appeared to be checking the time. "Oh! There is one other thing I wanted to say, Dad. If you'll have me, I want to be a part of Forrester. I may not have the name, but I want a part of the legacy you built with Granddad."

"Of course!" Ridge looked so enthusiastic. Taylor just knew Nicky was going to break his heart.

"I'm happy to hear that, Dad." Nicky reached into his coat and produced an envelope that was stuffed with what looked like legal documents. "Surely you won't mind signing over your 25% of Forrester Creations to me, then."

"WHAT?!" Taylor screamed. She could tell that Ridge was speechless, so she spoke for him. "Are you insane?"

"Why would you ask me that, Taylor. You're a shrink so you know how terrible it is to stigmatize mental illness. Besides, Steffy and Thomas own shares of Forrester. Why shouldn't I?"

"Outside." Taylor pointed at the door. "Now."

"I'll leave this here for you." Nicky sat the envelope on Ridge's chest. "Either you'll sign it or you won't."

After standing up, Taylor grabbed Nicky by the collar of his jacket, and dragged him out into the hallway. She slammed the door and put a finger in Nicky's chest. "What was that?"

"What do you think?" Nicky slapped Taylor's hand away. "I want that 25% of Forrester stock. Or do I not deserve it because I didn't come from your rotting snatch?"

Taylor made to slap Nicky but he grabbed her forearm mid strike.

"Not today, Bitch."

"I won't let you do this to RJ's dad, Nicky. Ridge doesn't deserve you messing with his head right after he almost died."

The young man smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not Nicky, you evil cunt."

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Taylor's brain. "What are you talking about? Of course you are, unless RJ has more alters."

"This is why your psychiatry practice is in shambles, not unlike your face. I am RJ. And I did marry Ricky. You wanna know why? Because he told me everything."

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked defensively.

He got in up in her face and Taylor searched his eyes. The hate in them was the exact same as it was the day RJ had punched her in his loft. It really was him.

"You knew about Courtney. You knew she was impersonating Eden and said nothing. You knew Victor hired her and Ricky and kept your mouth shut, even after I almost died. And I also know that Sheila Carter is alive. And I know you're the one who kept her hidden and told nobody.

"You don't want to fuck with me, Taylor. You'll get my dad to sign these papers and give me his stock, or I'm going to make sure everybody knows everything that you did. They already hate me, Taylor, but for some reason they adore you. So I have nothing to lose. And I'll be more than happy to watch you lose everything."

Then, without even a farewell, RJ spun on his heel and walked away.

B&B

Theresa screamed when she opened the door of her apartment.

"Why do you have a charge on your credit card for a bunch of spiders?" Ivy asked as she continued reading her employee's bill.

"Don't you know it's illegal to go through someone else's mail?" Theresa slammed her door shut and made to snatch it away, then thought better of it.

"Laws are boring." Ivy sighed and tossed the papers over her shoulder. "You need to change your sheets. They reek."

"Why are you in my apartment?"

"If you had been here where I need you, you would know the answer to that already." Ivy picked up a can of what looked like imported Australian ale from the coffee table and took a sip. "I'm going to be staying with you while they finish renovating my new flat."

"What about your gigantic mansion? What do you need an apartment for?"

"It's a flat. I'm not using your filthy American words. I've decided to put my residence up for sale. You see, I've run into some financial difficulties and really need the money."

"You're broke?" Theresa just stared at her boss. "I was only gone a few days! What happened?"

"I made some bad investments. Yeah, that works." Ivy took another drink of her ale before setting the can down.

"I still have a job, right?" Theresa couldn't afford to be out of work. Nobody else wanted to hire a woman who had been a suspected serial killer.

"Yes, you still have a job. I'm not poor. Not like you." Ivy looked around Theresa's place with disgust. "It's just not easy going from a quarter of a billion dollars to less than 20 million."

"Hold up. You're still a millionaire?" Theresa sat down beside Ivy an gave her an incredulous look. "That's not broke!"

"It is when you're me. Not that I'm going to stay down for very long. I've got my hands in some promising things." Ivy scratched the back of her neck and stared at Theresa. "Now where the hell were you? I needed you here, with me."

"I was in Genoa City for awhile. Your cousin RJ needed some help."

"Oh, what did the flaming little fudge-packer want?" Ivy looked annoyed by the sound of his name.

"He needed help seeing some old dude. His ex-boyfriend's grandfather or something. I may have seduced his ex's dad. It was fun!"

"Nick Newman? The son of Victor Newman?" Ivy looked off to the side and Theresa could tell she was likely thinking of something illegal. "Hmm. Thanks for telling me. Now go change your sheets."

"Why do you want me to change my sheets so bad?"

Ivy looked at Theresa like she was an idiot. "I'm not sleeping on the couch. Now if you want to keep your job and your head, do as I say."

With that, Ivy snapped her fingers. Theresa sighed.


	20. Chapter 20

"RJ... No, Nicky. He never changed where RJ hid the spare key." Noah gave what he probably thought was a smile, but all Hope saw was a pained grimace.

The man turned the key and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?"

Hope recognized the voice from the clinic. Before she could do anything, Noah had charged into the loft. There was a sound of something breaking that made her run in after him.

"You fucker!" Noah yelled as he punched Ricky Williams in the face. His attack was so brutal that Hope flinched. Lamps and vases and small statues fell from tables as the two men grappled with each other.

Back in New York, at the clinic, Noah and the man had also fought but it had been brief. Eden had interfered and ended things: Hope was too scared to step in and break things up.

She was terrified that Noah was going to murder the man.

A bit of plaster hit the floor when Noah slammed Ricky's head into the wall. Then he grabbed Ricky's hair and repeated the action three times before jamming a knee into the other man's kidney and throwing him to the floor.

"Piece of shit." Noah spat on Ricky and kicked him in the ribs.

It felt off. Hope knew what Eden had told her. Ricky was supposed to be terrifying, a complete monster, but Noah was roughing him up with too much ease. None of that chilled her fear as he watched her friend brutalize him.

"I should just put you down." Noah kicked Ricky again and then sat on his chest. He began punching Ricky in the face, but when Noah reached for the jagged pottery she found the nerve to step in and finally put a stop to it.

"What the fuck are you doing in my loft?"

Before Hope could do anything, her brother stormed past her and stared at Noah. He saw the makeshift weapon in Noah's hand and her saw his battered husband.

Nobody expected for him to kick Noah in the face.

"GET OFF OF HIM!" he yelled as he made to kick Noah again. Except Noah caught his foot and pushed back, throwing his ex off balance and to the floor.

It was then that Ricky sat up and stared at Noah. Hope could only catch a glimpse of his eyes, but it finally led her to scream.

"You don't get to touch my husband." Ricky grabbed Noah by the throat and threw him off with a shocking ease.

As she watched her brother help Ricky to his feet, Hope wondered where her voice had gone. She seemed unable to speak. Nobody was paying attention to her anyway.

"Get your hands off him!" Noah ordered as he climbed to his feet and pointed at Ricky.

The man responded by pulling his husband close, so that his back was against Ricky's chest. Ricky half-leaned on him and Hope saw her brother visibly soften at the man's touch. He grabbed Ricky's left hand and held it to his chest so that the wedding band was visible for all to see.

"Get out of here, Noah. You don't get to barge into my home and attack my husband."

"Shut up, Nicky! This isn't about you." Noah didn't even look at him. His eyes were fixed solely on Ricky. "You don't know what this bastard did."

"Don't talk to him like that!" Ricky balled the hand on his husband's chest until it was a fist clenching the front of the shirt.

"You don't get to talk! You're a psycho who is manipulating and abusing a creation of someone with a serious mental illness."

"That's not Nicky."

Everyone stared at Hope, but nobody was more shocked to hear the words than the woman who spoke them. She stood next to Noah and put a calming hand on his shoulder, but looked into her brother's eyes. There was no denying it.

"You're RJ."

"You figured it out," he sneered. He was hard, but hot: Hope sensed no coldness from him. Unlike Nicky, RJ still cared. He was just lost.

"You can't be RJ." Noah's voice was broken. She felt the muscles under her hand go from tense to slack. "He wouldn't do this."

"Do what?" Ricky asked, wrapping his other arm around RJ's waist. Hope's brother melted into the embrace, closing his eyes for a few seconds and smiling.

"He wouldn't marry a sociopath!" Noah yelled, though there was no fire to it. There was pain just beneath the surface that even Hope's cousin Marcus could detect. Maybe.

"You mean I wouldn't move on from you." RJ reached an arm up and snaked it back around Ricky's neck. He kept smiling at he opened his eyes. Hate burned at their edges. "I'm supposed to spend another three years waiting on you, right? I'm just a warm hole you can stick your dick in whenever your woman of the month decides she doesn't want you anymore. Fuck off."

"You know that's not..." Hope started, but she couldn't find the words to finish her thought. Her hand slipped from Noah's shoulder and fell limply to her side.

"What are you two even doing here? Because I already had a chat with Taylor and that bitch won't be locking me up like you were planning."

"What?" Noah stepped away from Hope and stared at her.

"Little Miss Perfect here? She conspired with the woman who outed us. The entire Logan family wanted to lock me up. It's why I'm a Braña now." For emphasis, RJ showed off his wedding ring. “We both are.”

Noah looked away from Hope and back to RJ. "They still should. God knows marrying this freak is evidence enough that you're insane, with or without the multiple personalities."

"Can we not-" Hope started before RJ interrupted.

"That's not happening. My husband here has my power of attorney. I'm not going anywhere. Right, Honey?"

Ricky kissed RJ's neck, leaving behind a spot of blood from his busted open lip. "That's right, Babe. You're gonna stay here with me."

"The marriage won't stand up in court. Brooke will have it annulled. RJ will get the professional help he needs, and you'll go to prison where you belong."

"Good luck trying to beat Ivy's lawyers. She blew up a hotel and they got her off," RJ bragged. He turned around and pulled Ricky down for a full kiss, but both had their eyes open and they both watched Noah.

"What does Ivy have on you?" Hope stepped in front of Noah in an attempt to keep him from attacking Ricky again. It seemed to work, even if just momentarily. "Nicky I get, but why are you still working with that woman, RJ? She's evil!"

RJ finally broke away from his husband, and when he focused on Hope she noticed that the softness he got from Ricky had disappeared. "Ivy is a lot of things. A murderer, a terrorist, a pain in the ass, but what she isn't is fake. She's a bitch and she knows it.

"And if Ivy ever conspired with the woman who made it her mission in life to ruin mine, she would own it. She wouldn't try to act like going to Taylor Hayes was anything other than a deliberate slap in the face.

"I came back to LA wanting to make amends for what Nicky did. But you wanna know something? He was a trash bag, but he was a better person than all of you. He didn't do anything you assholes didn't deserve."

That made Hope mad. "Are you saying I deserved to be drugged and strapped to a bed for a month in some clinic in New York? Did you really just say that?"

For a moment, there was doubt in RJ's eyes. Then Ricky stroked his back and RJ blinked. When his eyes reopened the doubt was gone.

"Hell yes, you deserved it. Because you never came to see me after I almost died. My boyfriend left me, because this asshole's grandfather" RJ pointed at Noah "had him kidnapped. My sex tape was leaked. And I didn't hear a word from you. At least Steffy has the decency to be a cunt to my face. You're just a coward."

It was Noah's turn to put a hand on Hope's shoulder. She noticed it was shaking. "That's enough."

"No, Noah, it's the truth. You're a stupid whore content to spend your life doing nothing but being a mediocre lay for people who actually have jobs, and my sister here is a frigid bitch with a Christ complex."

"And you married a murderer," Noah shit back.

There was a change in RJ. He stepped away from all three of them and stared at Ricky. It was hard to tell if he was afraid. "What?"

Ricky didn't react.

"Yeah. He told me and Hope all about it. Maya and Eden, too. After Courtney and you went out the window, she survived. At first. Then your new husband killed her on Victor's orders."

"Oh. Is that all? I thought it would be something I cared about." RJ bounded back to Ricky's side and threw his arms around the man.

"What?" Noah sounded incredulous, and Hope was more than a little disturbed herself.

RJ squeezed Ricky, who ran a hand through RJ's hair. "Even if what you're telling me is true, Courtney is the bitch who impersonated Eden. Right? She tried to kill me. So, as far as I'm concerned, that's even more reason to love him."

Noah's legs stopped working and he collapsed to a sitting position. Not knowing what else to do, Hope squatted down next to him. She stared at her brother. This was definitely RJ, but he had changed. He was no longer her sweet but slightly spoiled brother. He was just like Steffy.

"You can't." Noah argued weakly. His voice was low and Hope barely heard him.

"What? I'm sorry. We didn't hear you." Ricky chuckled and leaned in their direction, dipping RJ as if they were dancing. "Could you repeat that for us?"

"Please stop." Hope knew she was begging, but she didn't care. "RJ, please, come to your senses. I know I missed a lot, but whatever happened to you can't have been enough to make you this bitter. You used to be so loving."

"Get fired from the company you co-founded and have someone sue you for rape on the same day, Hope. Find out that your entire family wants you locked away. Then talk to me about why someone would change."

RJ gave an indication that Ricky should raise him up, and as soon as they were standing RJ jumped up and wrapped his legs around Ricky's torso. There was a grunt, probably because Ricky was still sore from Noah's attack, but he didn't drop RJ.

They kissed and both Hope and Noah felt compelled to look away.

"I don't know why you two came here, and at this point I don't care," RJ said after he finished making out with his husband. "But it's time for you to go. Because we are newlyweds and that means we have needs. And one thing I don't need is a live audience. But if you're really curious, look me up on XTube. They're still hosting both of my videos."

"I can't believe I ever loved you." Noah found the strength to stand. He pulled Hope up with him. "You're just a selfish little bitch. You're just like Victor."

"Guilt trips won't work on me, Noah. Because unlike Victor, I don't give a fuck about you anymore. What happened back in Genoa City? Forget it. I have someone else in my life now, and he isn't using me to replace a vagina."

"Fish is overrated, anyway," Ricky added, grabbing at RJ's ass as he continued to hold him.

Having enough of everything, Hope grabbed Noah's wrist and pulled him out of the loft. RJ hopped down off Ricky and followed them to the door.

"You can keep the key. Consider it a reminder of everything you lost, because I'm getting the locks changed. But first, I'm gonna go make love to my husband." RJ slammed the door in their faces.

Neither Hope nor Noah knew what else to say. They left.


	21. Chapter 21

"You do realize I'm white, right? I don't tan like you. I burn." RJ slathered on more sunscreen and tried to stay under the protective cover of his umbrella. "Why are we at the beach, anyway? There's a private pool back home. I don't have that expensive lease for nothing."

"Because if we want people to think this marriage is real, we need to be seen doing stuff like this," Ricky answered. He took the bottle of sunscreen from his husband and squirted some into his hands. "I'll get your back."

RJ almost declined, but the moment Ricky's fingers touched his skin he acquiesced with a low moan.

The paparazzi and the hipsters could snap all the pics they wanted. It would be good for the two men to be all over the tabloids and Instagram: it would help legitimize their marriage in the eyes of the naysayers. And that was important because it was the only thing keeping RJ out of the loony bin and Ricky out of prison.

Pissing off RJ's entire family was just icing on the cake.

"All done," Ricky whispered. His breath tickled RJ's ear and the kiss planted on his neck did more to make him melt than the sun overhead.

As he watched his husband stand and run to the water, RJ did his best to ignore his phone vibrating in the pocket of his swimming trunks. He may have grown up in a Parisian boarding school, but RJ was never comfortable enough to wear a speedo: he was glad Ricky didn't have those same body issues.

"Are you RJ Logan?" A kid, a young man of maybe 16, sat beside him. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday! Your outfits are amazing."

"What?" RJ blinked at the kid.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were him. You guys look a lot alike."

Not even bothering to excuse himself, RJ climbed to his feet and walked away from his fan. He fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the date. It was official: he was 21.

RJ slipped the phone back into his pocket and watched his husband. Noticing his audience, Ricky left the water and approached RJ. Even with the bruises that Noah had left, the man was beautiful. There would probably be questions from the press as to why Ricky and RJ were both in such bad shape, probably speculative headlines of the newlyweds abusing each other, but Ivy would take care of it.

It scared RJ a little when he realized how much he relied on his cousin.

"Is everything okay?" Ricky asked when he got to RJ. Water dripped from his body and, without thinking, RJ wiped a hand across the man's chest and then licked the liquid from his fingers. It was salty.

"Today is my birthday." RJ didn't look at Ricky's face. One of the bruises on Ricky's torso had an unusual shape so he focused on that instead. "I'm 21 and unemployed and estranged from my entire family."

"You have your cousin Ivy."

Shaking his head, RJ never took his eyes off the bruise. "That's a business transaction, not a relationship."

"Is that what you think about me?"

"Isn't it what we are?" RJ whispered, doing his damnedest to keeps his wits about him as Ricky ran the back of his hand the length of RJ's arm. He was questioning everything but didn't know why. After all, marrying Ricky had been his idea. Why was he upset?

Being pulled into a hug caught RJ off guard. The water that was still on Ricky's body was cool, but the embrace was warm. Thinking became difficult.

"We don't have to be that. We don't have to pretend." Ricky nuzzled the side of RJ's face. As a result he practically had to hold his husband up.

"What?" RJ managed to squeak out.

"This can be a real marriage. If you want. I mean, we both have feelings. Right? Or can you not forgive me for working for Vi-"

Ricky didn't get to finish his sentence because RJ interrupted with a kiss.

"I'd like that. No, I'd love it." RJ continued to kiss his husband as the sound of camera phones going off filled the air.

B&B

“RJ's back, Mom.” Hope couldn't look at her mother. Noah had... He had gone back to Maya shortly after leaving the loft. It was up to Hope to try figuring out how to tell everyone about what her brother was doing. He wasn't acting like himself, but he wasn't Nicky, either. It was possible RJ had another alter, but Hope doubted that was the case.

“From the honeymoon? I saw the blogs. I know all about the marriage. We can have it annulled since RJ isn't in his right mind.”

Sighing, Hope crossed her arms and looked out the window. There was a buzzard in the front lawn eating what looked like a dead cat: it reminded her of Ivy. “No, Mom. We can't. I don't mean that RJ is back from his honeymoon. My brother, your son... He's in control again. RJ chose to marry that guy. And he knew about the murder.”

“Murder?” Brooke gasped. “Thad killed somebody?”

Hope used her right hand to push the hair out of her face. Slowly, she turned and looked at her mom. “His name isn't Thad, Mom. It's Ricky. Ricky Williams. And Eden Baldwin is still alive.”

“Is this a joke? Eden died when she went out the window at Spencer with your brother. Come on, Hope. Be serious.” Brooke looked distraught.

Walking away from the window, Hope approached the fireplace. There was no fire going but she was still sweating. There was a photo of her and RJ on the mantle. Her eyes lingered on it as she spoke to Brooke. “I don't have all the details. But apparently Noah's grandfather did some stuff to break up RJ and Noah. He hired Ricky to seduce RJ. All that stuff in his bio, when you hired him as Thad? I guess the guy faked it for him.”

“And Eden?” Brooke's voice was icy. It made Hope flinch.

“It wasn't Eden who attacked RJ. Noah's grandfather had some other woman do it. And Ricky, the guy you call Thad, I guess Victor had him kill her in the hospital. And RJ knew all about it.”

“This doesn't sound like your brother. Hope, are you sure it isn't his alter? That it isn't Nicky?”

With another sigh, Hope finally looked at Brooke. She didn't expect to see her mother looking pissed. “It's him, Mom. I looked him in the eyes last night and I saw RJ. And he scared me.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, Noah was fighting with Ricky and RJ... He got right in the middle of it. He attacked Noah, Mom. RJ said horrible things. We've lost him.”

Brooke shook her head and crossed her arms. “Where is he?”

“RJ? He's back in the loft. Ricky is living with him.”

Without another word, Brooke turned and walked away from Hope. There was no way to tell just what Brooke Logan was going to do but Hope just prayed that it would somehow fix her family.

B&B

“What are you doing here?” Steffy snorted her disapproval. “Don't you have something else to do than darken my doorstep?”

“Steffy, shut up and let Bill know I'm here.”

“If it's about RJ, he got what he deserved. The little freak.”

Brooke fought the urge to strangle Steffy and repeated herself. “Tell Bill I'm here to see him.”

“I don't think I want him talking to you. You Logans have a bad habit of whoring yourselves out to Bill and I really don't want to have to sanitize him again. Why don't you just go sleep with Deacon? At least he's unattached.” Steffy moved to slam the door in Brooke's face, but didn't seem the least bit fazed by Brooke using her foot as a stopper.

“Listen here, you little tramp. You don't get to judge me or my children. Not when you have your own list of sexual indiscretions a mile long. Now go get Bill out of that bus station you call a bed and tell him I need to talk to him.” Brooke narrowed her eyes and stared Steffy down.

Taylor's demonic offspring didn't budge. “No.”

“I tried to do it the nice way.”

Steffy released the door and grabbed the front of Brooke's blouse. She used it to throw the older woman against the wall. With barely restrained rage, Steffy put her face up to Brooke's. “I will fucking kill you.”

Brooke reached into her purse and brought out a taser. Steffy fell down rather quickly and Brooke stepped over her former stepdaughter. She casually stashed the taser back into her purse. “Sharon was right: this was a great investment. I'll have to have Noah thank her for me.

“BILL!” She called loudly, doing her best to ignore Steffy's groans. “BILL SPENCER!”

He came out of the bedroom, fastening the buttons on his shirt. He started to reply to Brooke, then saw Steffy on the floor. “Brooke, what did you do?”

“She's alive, Bill. Tasers are nonlethal and plastic doesn't conduct electricity all that well.” Brooke just leaned against the wall and watched as he made his way to Steffy and knelt down by her side. Once upon a time, Brooke had wanted him back in her life. That time had long since passed and she just saw him as the man who broke her sister's heart. “We need to talk.”

“You leave to leave, Brooke. Now.” Bill shook Steffy awake. Gently, he caressed her cheek. “Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Go ahead and call an ambulance, Bill. But it won't be for me.” Steffy held her head and used Bill's should to push herself to her feet. “I'm about to kill a whore.”

“As hot as that would be to watch, I don't need accessory to murder on my record, Steffy.” Bill looked at Brooke and his gaze was ice cold. “What do you want, Brooke? Katie got what she wanted from the divorce... Unless this is about RJ.”

Nodding, Brooke ignored Steffy's indignant growl. The little cunt was the least of Brooke's problems. “Yeah, Bill. It's about RJ.”

“He raped Bill,” Steffy interjected smugly.

“Come off it, Steffy. If that were true then Bill would've taken it to the cops instead of a civil suit. And as much as that needs addressed, I'm not here about that right now.”

“Are you here about your son trying to kill me, then? Little bastard nearly strangled me.” Steffy unconsciously pulled the collar of her shirt away from her neck and Brooke caught a glimpse of red swelling. She didn't care.

Instead, Brooke focused her attention back onto Bill. “I know RJ hasn't been himself lately. There's a reason for that, Bill. And you're gonna help me with it.”

“Why on Earth would I help you or your son with anything, Brooke? You attacked Steffy and he ruined my reputation as well as my marriage!”

Brooke shrugged dismissively. Bill was the one that had made her into an enemy. He did it the moment he slept with her son. “Bill, you're a smart man. I know you like to keep tabs on people. I know that you spend more time watching Forrester competitors than you're willing to admit.”

“Get to the point, Brooke. Tell us why you're here before I get bored and give you the ass kicking of my dreams,” Steffy snapped. “Oh, how much better off everyone would've been if Grandmother had just killed you.”

“Steffy, your upper lip is looking a little deflated. Want me to fix it for you?” Brooke cracked the knuckled in her right hand.

Bill stomped his foot and stepped up to Brooke. He puffed his chest out and tried to stare her down. She tried not to laugh in his face. “Just get to the point, Brooke. What do you want?”

“Victor Newman, Bill. That's what I want. I want you to use your connections to tell me everything you can find about Victor Newman. You do that for me, and I just might be able to get RJ under control.”

With a snarl, Steffy shoved Bill to the side and looked Brooke dead in the eye. “How about you just fuck right off instead? I can handle RJ just fine, Brooke. You won't be using Bill's connections for jack shit. Be a failure of a mother on your own time.”

Brooke very much wanted to whip out her taser for a second shock, but opted to instead maintain her composure. “Nobody is talking to you, Steffy. Bill, what do you say?”

“I think you need to leave, Brooke. You aren't welcome here. And don't be shocked if your next few dozen lines from L&M don't review so well in Eye on Fashion.”

With another shrug, Brooke just walked past Bill and Steffy and into the hallway of the apartment building. She bit back a chuckle as she heard the door slam behind her and the locks clicking into place.

She'd tried Bill first out of courtesy. She wanted to give him a chance to make up for what he had done, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. It didn't matter because she had planned on things going to hell. As she walked to the elevator, Brooke pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

As smart as she was beautiful, Brooke waited until she was on the elevator to make her call. “Hello? Sharon? It's me, Brooke. I'm RJ's mom. We need to have a talk about Noah's grandfather...”

B&B

“Where's my favourite tiny faggot?” Ivy crossed her legs and smiled. “I thought you'd both be coming home. Your little PDA session on the beach is all the rage on social media and the blogs. Plus, it's his birthday. I had Theresa make him a cake, but it was shit, so I sent her out to buy him a new one.”

“You don't live here, Ivy. How did you get a key already? We just had the locks changed this morning. And a keypad installed.”

Shaking her head, Ivy retrieved a credit card from her purse and began using it to clean the dirt from under her nails. “You do know that RJ never changed the pass code, yes? It's still the default. Four consecutive zeroes. Not unlike my love life. He's as simple as he is crazy.”

“I'll make sure to have him fix it when he gets back.” Ricky closed the door and returned Ivy's smile. She found herself enjoying it. “But you'll be happy to know that it worked.”

“Of course it did. I didn't get as far as I have by being stupid, Ricardo. And neither have you. I'm glad you picked the winning side.”

“But of course. He suspects nothing. RJ thinks I really do want a real marriage. It being his birthday just made him all the more susceptible” Ricky leaned over Ivy and kissed her. She felt fire burn its way through her body: it started at her lips and traveled straight to her groin. “As soon as you're ready, he'll be out of the way. And he won't see it coming.”

“Just where is he, Ricky? Where is the birthday boy? It's not like he has a job.”

“He wouldn't tell me. He just said it was time for him to take care of something personal: something he needed to fix.”

It didn't matter where RJ was. Ivy didn't really care, but she made a mental note to start having the little queer tailed. She was about to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, and even the smallest of errors could jeopardize her carefully laid plans.

B&B

Katie stared at the bottle. She had yet to open it. Yes, she'd had her assistant Adele pick it up while out getting snacks for Will, but Katie hadn't opened it. Every fiber of her being wanted to open it. Surely a video of one's nephew sleeping with one's husband was worth at least a tiny sip.

She was pulled out of her reverie by a knock at the door. Katie grabbed the bottle and stashed it under one of the sofa cushions. Eventually, she would have a staff to answer her door, but she was still in the process of moving out the mansion she used to share with Bill. It didn't make sense to have staff for a hotel room.

A quick glance through the peephole was enough to make Katie want to vomit. Against her better judgment, she opened the door. “You aren't welcome here, RJ. I don't know what made you think I'd ever want to see you again, but you need to leave before I call the police.”

“I'm sorry.” He looked genuine but Katie didn't care. “I've hurt a lot of people lately, but you're the only one I regret. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't do it.”

“You can't unfuck my husband, RJ. You can't pull that video off the internet anymore than you can remove my name from the headlines. You ruined my marriage and my life. You need to leave. Now.”

He opened his mouth to protest but Katie slammed the door shut and locked it. RJ was calling her name as she stumbled back to the sofa and picked up the bottle. She unscrewed the lid and took a drink. It burned as it made its way down her throat.


	22. Chapter 22

Taylor tried her best to listen to Steffy, but her mind was occupied with other things. Ridge was wanting to sign over the stock. The doctors were telling them that he would be probably require around-the-clock care for the rest of his life. Steffy had yet to visit her father because she was too caught up in her own drama.

“Mother, are you even listening to me?” Steffy barked viciously. “I just told you that Brooke assaulted me a taser! In my own home!”

“And what do you want me to do about it, Steffy?” Taylor shouted back, catching her daughter off guard. “I can't fight your battles and protect your father at the same time!”

Steffy's face softened. “How is dad? I... I've been afraid to visit him since that first night. To see him like that, with all the tubes and the wires... I can't see him like that, Mom. I can't see my dad as weak.”

“I wish you would see him, Steffy. Thomas hasn't seen him, either. Your father is so lonely he...” She stopped herself before she spilled her secret. Steffy would be livid if she knew what her father was doing.

“Mom? Is dad okay? He's not still trying to kill himself is he?” Steffy's voice was so small that Taylor could barely hear her. “Would it help him if I did come see him?”

“He would like that, Steffy.” Taylor grabbed her daughter's hand and squeezed it. “It would help a lot of things.”

Ever the detective, Steffy picked up on what her Mother was desperately trying not to say. “Mom, what am I missing?”

Taylor debated for a few moments whether or not to answer her daughter. Her silence is what had created the situation to begin with, and she was so tired of keeping secrets from everyone who loved her. Steffy would understand. She had to understand.

“RJ is trying to get your father to sign over his Forrester Creation stock, Steffy. Since he was let go from L&M, RJ had decided he wants in on Forrester.”

Steffy pulled back from her mother and kicked over a nearby stand. A vase crashed to the floor and Taylor jumped back in shock. “That little bitch. He thinks he can do everything he's done and then try to get his hands on MY company? He's just like his whore of a mother. Don't worry, Mom. I'll take care of him.”

“It's not that easy, Steffy.” Taylor took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. “RJ is taking advantage of your father in his fragile state, but he's also blackmailing me.”

Steffy tried her best to look bewildered. “You? What could the little asshole have on you, Mom? You're the most selfless person I know.”

“Steffy, do you remember who Sheila Carter is?” Taylor waited until her daughter nodded.

“She's dead, though. It happened in Genoa City. What does she have to do with RJ?”

With a sigh, Taylor shook her head. “Nothing. RJ has nothing to do with Sheila, Steffy. But she... She isn't dead.”

“Mom, sit down.” Steffy grabbed Taylor's hands and led her over to the sofa. They sat down and Steffy kept holding her hands. “Tell me everything. Please.”

Taylor took another deep breath.

B&B

“Ivy is throwing a party tonight?” RJ scrolled through the invitation. It was obvious Theresa had created it for her boss because she had misspelled “Forrester” as “Forester”. It also emphasized the open bar.

“It's a house-warming party,” Ricky added, looking at it from his own phone. “And it's in this building, but on another floor.”

“She's my neighbour?” RJ groaned and leaned into his husband. “How did I not know this? This is fucking ridiculous. The woman is a terrorist. If I didn't know she's have me killed, I'd complain to whoever it is you complain to about these kind of things.”

“Aren't you and Ivy on good terms?” Ricky draped an arm over RJ's shoulder and kissed the top of his head. “I mean, she's kinda here a lot.”

“Would you turn away the woman credited with wiping out two mob families? How has nobody retaliated against her? Ugh. Whatever. I guess we have to go.”

Ricky traced RJ's collarbone with the tips of his fingers. It tickled. “Do we? Couldn't we just stay here and enjoy being newlyweds?”

RJ opened his mouth to answer, but the phone in his hands started to ring. It was from the hospital. He held up a hand to his husband and climbed out of their bed. “Hello?”

“RJ?” It was a rough, wheezing voice. RJ immediately recognized it as his father's. He felt himself immediately grow cold, and when he looked over his shoulder he saw Ricky shiver and pull the sheet up to his chin.

After clearing his throat, RJ did his best to sound excited. “Dad? You're allowed to make phone calls? That is so good! I'm glad you're doing better. Soon you'll be back to work. I can't wait to be there at your side.”

“No.” Ridge's voice was still weak. “Come.”

“Dad? What is it? You need me at the hospital? You made a decision about the stock?” RJ bit his lip and looked away from Ricky. He needed that stock. It was the biggest piece of his revenge plan. So much hinged on it. It was what would free him from the entirety of the Forrester clan forever.

“Come.” Ridge repeated before the call ended.

B&B

Brooke stormed into the lobby of Newman Enterprises. Security started to come over to her, but the man on her arm waved them away. She barely knew the man on her arm, they'd just met that morning, but Sharon had been right about him opening up doors.

“Good morning, Mr. Newman,” the receptionist said. When she saw Brooke was with him, her jaw dropped. “Can I have your autograph, Brooke?”

“Sure.” Brooke took the proffered pen and scratched her name down on a Post-It. She knew enough to stay on the public's good side. Her likability carried her through many scandals. As soon as she was done, Brooke and her escort made their way down to the elevators.

As soon as the elevator shut and they were alone, he asked her a question. “Are you sure you want to meet my dad? Victor managed to skate out of the charges levied against him by Eden Baldwin.”

Her shoulders shook as she chuckled. “You don't understand. I spent over half my life battling with Stephanie Forrester. I bested her countless times. I was the CEO of Forrester Creations during its most profitable years. If anyone should be scared, it's him.”

“I like you,” he told her, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall with a smile. When the elevator dinged and the door opened, he caught Brooke's eye. “You want me to come with you?”

Brooke shook her head. “Thanks but no thanks, Adam. You got me in the door, but the rest is up to me.”

“Okay then. You need anything else, don't be afraid to holler. I'll be at the penthouse with Chelsea.”

After bidding him farewell, Brooke stepped off the elevator and took a deep breath. Sharon had warned Brooke about Adam Newman. He wasn't to be trusted, but he hated Victor more than anyone else possibly could. That was yet to be seen. Victor had gone after her child more than once. She wouldn't let that stand.

“Mr. Newman is in a meeting right now,” the secretary said when Brooke found Victor's office. She ignored the woman and threw the door open.

Victor Newman radiated power. His aura filled the room in a way that attempted to press Brooke to the floor. She didn't even have to shake it off, instead opting to slam the door in the secretary's face and lock it behind her.

“Who are you?” Victor stared at Brooke from over the top of his glasses. She sat her purse down on a nearby table and smoothed the wrinkles out of her top. “Are you deaf? Who do you think you are?”

With a smile, Brooke walked up to Victor's desk and leaned on it, her hands gripping the edges so tightly her knuckles turned white. She ignored the other man in the room and stared directly into Victor's eyes. She could tell that he was little more than a slightly more effeminate version of Stephanie Forrester.

“I'm Brooke Logan.” She felt no need to elaborate. The look he tried to keep off his face proved that he knew just who she was.

“So, you're what birthed that thing that nearly ruined my grandson. My sympathies.” Victor then waved his hand as if to dismiss her.

“I talked to your grandson just the other day, Victor.” Brooke stood up and lifted a pen from his desk. “He's the one who told me all about you. And I just had to come and see for myself if you're the big bad villain every claims you are. But I find you lacking.”

“Am I supposed to care? I don't have time for this nonsense.” Victor looked back into Brooke's eyes. She didn't blink. “But now I know where that thing gets its sense of entitlement.”

“His name is RJ. After everything you've done, the least you could do is say his name.” Brooke's eyebrow twitched. He had gotten under her skin and they both knew it. “And regarding my son, I need to know what you did to him.”

“What I did to him? He's the one who came to my home and assaulted me!” Victor slammed his hands on the desk but Brooke wasn't intimidated: not even when he rose from his chair and assumed his full height.

“I spoke to Noah the other day. I know everything.” Brooke held Victor's gaze. His aura threatened to overwhelm her but she kept her cool. This was no different than Stephanie on a Tuesday night. “The legal system may not take you down, but know that I will.”

“Are you sure about that?” The other man in the room finally joined the conversation. “Do you know what all your son has done? To everyone here?”

Despite her better judgment, Brooke broke away from Victor's gaze and took in the other man. “How do you know anything about my son?”

“I'm Nick Newman. Noah's father.” He didn't offer Brooke his hand. She wouldn't have shaken it, anyway. “Your son blackmailed and attacked me.”

“Do you think I'm here to excuse what RJ did? I know he's out of control. And I also know that it didn't start until YOUR father decided to inject himself into RJ's life.” Brooke turned back to Victor. “I came here to ask you one question, Victor. And I wanted to see your face in person when I ask it.”

“What makes you think you have the right to ask me anything?” Victor crossed his arms over his chest. Brooke smirked.

Setting the pen down on the desk, Brooke tried her best not to chuckle. “I'm sure you saw that my my son recently got married. My new son-in-law is very familiar with you, Victor. He knows things. So I'm not asking you anything I couldn't ask him.

“No, the only thing you may not know is that my son hasn't disowned everyone in his family. He's still quite close to his cousin Ivy. I didn't expect you to fear me, Victor. You strike me as an intelligent man, but with that can come hubris. You would be smart to fear Ivy. She's unpredictable and power hungry. So, tell me, are you afraid?”

Brooke didn't wait for an answer. She turned around, walked to the door and let herself out. Her smile stayed on her face.

B&B

Steffy climbed out of the car with a seething fury. She didn't even tell the driver he was free to go. Taylor had gotten a phone call from Ridge, a summons from Steffy's father. He didn't say anything else. Taylor assumed he had made his decision about the stock and wanted her there. It didn't take much for Steffy to convince her mother to stay home while she went in her stead.

She would talk her father out of whatever RJ had talked him into, and then she would see to it that RJ never darkened her father's doorstep again. Each second that passed between Steffy leaving her mother's home and opening her father's hospital room door only served to feed her anger.

“Dad, we need to talk.” Steffy said as soon as she opened the door to her father's hospital room. She stopped in her tracks and found herself looking down the barrel of a gun.

“Scream and die,” the woman warned with a hiss. “Close the door and take a seat.”

She gestured to the chairs by Ridge's bed. RJ was occupying one and he looked terrified.

“Your mother was supposed to be here,” the woman told Steffy. “He called her. She said she would come!”

“I... I told her I was coming in her place.” Steffy said next to RJ, her anger already replaced by fear. She swallowed that fear and told the most convincing lie she could. “She took a sedative and went to bed.”

The woman took the phone by Ridge's bed and unplugged it, chucking it against the wall. She held her gun on the three of them and kept her eyes on Steffy. “Cell phone, please.”

“What?” Even as she questioned the demand, Steffy complied.

“Throw it over here.”

Steffy tossed the phone over and the woman stomped it, shattering the screen. Then she kicked it against the wall. After that, she pulled a phone out of her pocket and looked at RJ.

“What's the password?”

It took a few seconds for him to stammer it out. “Ricardo. R-I-C-A-R-D-O.”

Steffy snorted until the gun was focused on her.

“Shut up. Let me just call your mother and see... Oh? What's this?” The woman looked up at RJ and smiled. “Ivy is throwing a party? Oh, how perfect. I was gonna have it just be the four of us, RJ. You, me, Taylor, and Ivy, but this is perfect. Everyone can know everything that happened all at once. And I'll just deal with Taylor later.”

“You're Sheila Carter,” Steffy guessed, remembering what her mother had told her. “Aren't you?”

“Who?” RJ asked before squeaking when the gun was pointed at him.

“So, you do know me.” Sheila chuckled and put the phone back into her pocket. “Get up, you two. We're going to a party. And if you behave you'll both be just fine. You aren't my targets. Well, not yet.”

“What do I have to do with any of this?” RJ asked, slightly terrified. Steffy rolled her eyes. He was such a little pussy bitch.

“You'll learn that shortly, RJ. But I'll let you know that it's all Ivy and Taylor's fault. Bill's, too, but I have other plans for him.” Sheila motioned with her gun for the two to rise. Then she looked back to Ridge. “You really let yourself go, Ridge.”


End file.
